The Demon and the Red Moon
by Chaos Nightbringer
Summary: "My name is Kozuki," Kallen told the Britannian Prince. "It means-" "Red moon," Lelouch finished.
1. Chapter 1

**The Demon and the Red Moon**

Disclaimer: Code Geass is owned by Sunrise and not me. Please support the official release.  


 **This may not be updated as quickly as my last fiction. But I may have a back up writer as well.**

Turn 01-War for Two

Lelouch considered the bodies at his feet. Britannian soldiers. He felt their warm blood on his cheek. So clearly he was still awake. And therefore still alive. But he'd ordered them to die, and they'd obliged. The multiple impossibilities circulated through Lelouch's consciousness. Power. The witch's power, and he felt it behind his left eye, waiting for him.

Dead. Dead for years. Those things father had said to him. How all that he had was given to him by his father. Including Nunnally's disability and their exile. Pain. But this, this father hadn't given him. He owed this to the green-haired enigma who lay dead at his feet. All of these, from the pain to his education, to the power burning bright in his mind, these he could use. Against his father. And Britannia.

"Well then," Lelouch remarked, suddenly excited at the possibilities.

"Ooph!" Rubble was shifted, drawing Lelouch's surprised attention. He looked down into the darkened stairs from which he and the girl had come.

"Who's there?!" he demanded, trying to use his power. When no one came out immediately, Lelouch raised an eyebrow. He'd tried to use the power, but it hadn't drawn the person out. Some kind of limitation? Dammit, now wasn't the time for experimentation to discover his limits. Then the red-haired girl from earlier emerged, leveling a pistol at his direction. "You were the girl from the truck, the one with the Knightmare."

"I'm the one asking questions here!" the girl replied angrily. Walking up from the underground tunnel, she leveled her gun at him with both hands. Lelouch hesitated. How much did she know? Had she heard his command? That would mean she heard his name. His real name. "How did you kill these men? How did you make them commit suicide like that."

"Magic," Lelouch answered after a moment of thought, smirking. "Here, I'll show you-"

"If you try anything, I'll kill you. Lelouch vi Britannia," she declared, stepping closer, the pistol still held in both hands. Lelouch's eyes narrowed, in concern. "What are you doing here in Shinjuku? Admiring your country's handiwork?"

"It's not like I wanted to be here," Lelouch commented, running his hand through his hair in annoyance. But it was all an act. Inside he was intensely worried. "Are you an Eleven?"

"I'm Japanese!" she corrected, forcefully. She jammed the gun even closer, and Lelouch threw his hands up in surprise. "Filthy Britannian, always leaving us Japanese out in the mud. I hate your kind. You think your so superior to everybody else, just because you belong to a bigger country!"

"I meant no offense," Lelouch apologized, smiling sincerely this time. "And your right. They do enjoy leaving us in the dirt."

"What us? You're not Japanese," the woman pointed out. Lelouch frowned, conceding the point. He glanced away, then back to the red head, thoughtfully.

"But I am an Eleven," he said, drawing the girl's surprise. Lelouch looked away, frowning to himself. "The Eleventh prince of Britannia, yet here I am, discarded like a piece of trash. I guess we're similar in that regard." He lowered his raised hands slightly, then looked back to her. "I'm going to lower my hands because my arms are getting tired." The girl looked at him, dumbstruck as he lowered his hands to his sides.

"Wait a minute," she cried, shaking her head, remembering what was going on, "that's not the point!" Lelouch raised an eyebrow, curious. "We could use you as a hostage to get Britannia to leave Japan!" Lelouch instantly thought this plan through. Even if Charles considered him valuable, his value would be eliminated as soon as he was used as leverage against Britannia.

"Clearly you don't understand Britannia," Lelouch commented. The redhead's face blazed with anger at the comment. Before she could speak. "You're not thinking the situation through. Why am I here? I'll tell you. I was used as a hostage to give Japan a false bargaining chip against Britannia. They invaded anyway, risking my life, and didn't bother to try to find me after. I think you're overstating my value by several orders of magnitude. And even if they decide I'm worth something now, it'd be more likely they would pursue you even more to free me from your clutches."

The girl's face twisted into increasingly uncertainty as Lelouch spoke. She gritted her teeth, eyes narrowing, brow furrowed in worry. Lelouch cocked his head to the side slightly, giving her a friendly smile. She gave him distrusting look.

"And yet, if you kill me, if they discover my body, they'll attack you even more." Lelouch found himself admiring the girl as she lowered the pistol a fraction of an inch. "But," he added, surprising the girl, "I guess you don't need me." The girl was lost in thought, still pointing the gun at him. Ignoring her, Lelouch walked over to one of the bodies and turned it over, ignoring the gunshot. He picked the radio off of the body and examined it.

"What are you doing?!" the girl demanded, swinging the gun back to point at his kneeling form.

"I could use this radio to intercept their transmissions," Lelouch explained, thoughtfully. "But I don't know any of their codes or designations." He narrowed his eyes, looking off into space. "Maybe I could order someone to tell me." The radio issued a burble of static.

One of the walls suddenly burst, and in rolled a purple and crimson Knightmare. Lelouch jumped to a standing position in surprise.

"Get rid of the gun!" Lelouch shouted. The girl looked at the pistol in her hand in surprise and threw it away, then lowered her hands to her side quickly. The Knightmare leveled its assault rifle. Lelouch let the power flow into his eye, aiming it directly at the machine. "Give me your Knightmare."

" _Excuse me?"_ the pilot replied, angrily. It was a woman's voice. But the Knightmare didn't open. Lelouch narrowed his eyes. _"You've got a lot of nerve."_ Did it require direct eye contact. Thinking of the incident with the girl, Lelouch considered this. Maybe the combination of eye contact and verbal command. _"Are you a Britannian student?"_

"Uh," Lelouch began, switching to his student tone, "Yes! I'm the son of a duke! My girlfriend and I were playing around when...the battle!"

"I'm not your girlfriend!" the girl hissed, angrily.

"Shut up, do you wanna die?" Lelouch hissed back, gritting his teeth in the corner of his mouth. "If you got us out of here, my father would surely reward you! My identification card is in my breast pocket, I can show you if you like." He began to reach for it, just a farce.

" _Don't move!"_ the woman ordered over the Knightmare's speakers. _"I'll get it."_ the back hatch of the Knightmare opened, and Lelouch smirked. The woman who climbed out was tall, but not much taller than the red head, and similarly built. Lelouch's raised hands bore false witness to who was really in charge. "You're the son of a duke?" Lelouch's eye turned red.

"Give me your Knightmare and your clothes," Lelouch ordered.

0.0.0

When Villeta was aware of her own actions again, she was dressed only in a brown Britannian soldier's long coat. She jumped in alarm, crying out. She looked over to the bodies. A dead man's coat, too. This was so humiliating! What the hell had happened? Then she noticed that one of the soldiers, dressed in a combat coverall, was actually trying to get up, grunting in the effort. Villeta ran over, snatching up a radio.

0.0.0

Lelouch was looking through the various maps and screens in the Sutherland's cockpit. With what he had he could take out a few units. Even with his piloting skills. Or lack thereof. He reminded himself to run the Ganymede more. He looked over his shoulder at Kallen. She was staring intently into a radio as the battle was raging over the radio waves.

"How are your friends doing?" He asked her loudly, drawing her attention. She frowned angrily at him, making him frown with disinterest. Her anger at him made her less appealing, he decided.

"They'd be doing better if they had that Knightmare!" Kallen pointed out, standing from her crouched position atop a small mound of rubble. Lelouch narrowed his eyes. They needed more than one Knightmare. One Knightmare could win a skirmish, but little else. They needed a small army of Knightmares. He examined the map. There was no way he could order the pilots out of the machines. Even if he could get one to get out, they'd quickly start figuring it out. Then he noticed a curious sight. He checked the map. It was on the monorail.

"What about twelve?" he asked Kallen, stunning her speechless. He glanced over his shoulder at her. "Get changed, we have work to do." He looked back to the screen.

"You're joking!" Kallen shouted angrily, making Lelouch growl. He looked back at her. "You think I'm just going to follow your orders like a maid? I'm a proud member of the Japanese resistance against your kind! If anything you should take orders from me!" Lelouch waited a second as she ceased her ranting.

"Are you done?" he asked, irritated. Kallen huffed in anger. "Who do you think is the enemy commander?" Kallen blinked at the question. "I'll give you a hint. His last name is Britannia. Only one person in the Royal Family ever beat me in chess. I can beat him here. That's why I give the orders."

"You're joking. I'm not going to follow your orders!" Kallen argued, holding her fists out at her sides. Lelouch stood in the seat of the Sutherland.

"Do you want to win?" Lelouch asked angrily. "If not, fine!" He sat down again. "I can break out on my own."

"Wait!" Kallen demanded. Lelouch froze. Her tone was desperate. She wanted to win. "What is your plan? How are you going to defeat them?" Lelouch looked over his shoulder. Her face was angry, certainly, but she had a desperate hope in her eyes.

"Get changed. I'll explain along the way," Lelouch promised, looking away again. Kallen picked up the purple uniform by the shoulders and scanned it with a grimace.

"It doesn't leave a lot to the imagination," she commented as she started to unbutton her vest. Lelouch blinked his eyes wider. "You think we can defeat Britannia?" Lelouch looked over his shoulder at her, suddenly annoyed.

"You don't think so?" Lelouch asked, suddenly curious. His mind stopped mid step as he saw her nearly bare back, only broken by her pink bra straps. Her skin was smooth. Perfect. Part of Lelouch's mind wanted to have it close so he could feel it. His eyes widened and he looked back to his lap, blushing. He heard her clothes rustling again and he looked to see her dropping her shorts and leggings.

"It's just not something I think we're capable of," Kallen admitted. Lelouch's mind was an empty hollow. "Hey, you better not be looking!" Kallen looked over her shoulder and saw Lelouch examining over a map, his hand on his chin. She looked away again. Unseen to Kallen, Lelouch was blushing and biting down on his finger hard to focus.

0.0.0

"Are you having a bad day?!" came a loud voice. Suzaku looked up to see a white-haired man standing over him. The nearly silver blonde hair hung over some of his glasses. Before him sat a brunnette woman wearing the standard Britannian uniform. Suzaku blinked and looked up. "You nearly got to go to heaven."

"This stopped the bullet," the brunette woman said, holding out something in a white tissue. Suzaku reached out and she handed it to him. With a start, Suzaku realized what it was. His watch. Father...forgive me. The glass over the face was cracked. "Was it a keepsake?"

"You Elevens have your gods for everything!" the silver-haired man commented. Suzaku winced, then frowned, saddened. He noticed his surroundings and looked around in surprise. An ambulance? How did he get here? "We're still in the shinjuku ghetto."

"Is Lelo-is the fight still going on?" The white haired man blinked in surprise at Suzaku's question.

"Mmhmm," he hummed in the positive, disappointed. "It looks like the poison gas was released. There are many eleven casualties." Suzaku looked down, his teeth gritted. More of his people dying for no reason. "Say, Private Kururugi, do you have experience piloting a Knightmare frame?"

0.0.0

"I still think you should've let me drive," Kallen said in Lelouch's lap. They were heading for the west entrance. Lelouch sighed in annoyance. "What, you don't like it when a woman has an opinion?" Lelouch rolled his eyes. A rebel and a feminist.

"I wouldn't call you much of a woman just yet," Lelouch commented. He gasped when he realized how it sounded and looked back at Kallen. "I mean, you're still so young! Uh..."

"You could let me drive as an apology," Kallen teased, smiling. Lelouch stopped at her expression, his eyes going wide in sudden recognition. He stopped the Knightmare and moved his hands to her hair, holding it down over Kallen's protests.

"You're a student from Asheford Academy," Lelouch muttered in realization. Before Kallen could reply, another voice interrupted over the radio.

'You! What's your name and unit?' came Jeremiah Gottwald's voice. Lelouch blinked and looked around. He saw a pair of Knightmares approaching. Lelouch gritted his teeth.

"I was sent to secure the shipment in case the terrorists tried to capture it," Lelouch lied into his radio. Kallen blinked at his words. He hadn't explained that far into his plans. Meanwhile Lelouch used the time to prepare to fire.

'What shipment?' Lelouch fired his slash harkens. The twin anchors ripped into the sutherland's chest and triggered the auto-eject. Then Lelouch fired his assault rifle, ripping the other unit to shreds. Another projectile struck the Sutherland. It was a rocket-propelled grenade. Lelouch traced the source to see a group of men with red headbands.

"Friends of yours?" Lelouch asked. Kallen looked over her shoulder to see what Lelouch was looking for at his right. Lelouch began scanning with his fact-sphere sensor in the Sutherland's face. The small scanning window stopped on a man with curly brown hair.

"Ohgi!" she shouted. She pressed on the third red button on the Sutherland's radio console. "Ohgi, I'm in here!" The face's eyes shot wide in surprise and recognition. Lelouch just waited patiently, eyes narrowed in boredom.

'Kallen? How did you get a Sutherland?' the man asked, over the Knightmare's sound system.

"Don't tell them about me," Lelouch said. He winced when he heard his voice echo over the speaker system. He gritted his teeth and looked back at Ohgi. "You there, are you the leader? I can help you defeat the Britannian forces here, but you must do exactly what I say." Ohgi narrowed his eyes, mouth turning into a thin line from suspicion and thought.

'What do you want me to do?' Ohgi asked. Another man began to loudly argue against following Lelouch. Lelouch personally ignored the argument entirely.

"We're waiting," Lelouch said, looking up at the ceiling of the cockpit, straining to hear.

'Waiting for what?' Ohgi asked, confused. Lelouch heard it, the sound of wheels on track.

"Be right back," Lelouch said, and began to ascend between two columns, land-spinners pressed against them. As soon as he was atop the raised railway. He aimed at the automated train and fired the assault rifle. The rounds ripped up the electric motors, and train's humming ceased and it began to slow. Lelouch put his Sutherland in front of the train and began to push it to a stop.

"What was that for?" Kallen asked angrily. Lelouch gave her a smirk and moved the Sutherland to the side of one of the train cars. He lifted one of the many doors, and revealed the cargo within. Kallen's eyes went wide as she took in the site. "Oh, that's..."

Ohgi saw the Knightmare drop back over the side of the rails and hold out a hand to them.

'Are you ready to fight for justice?' Ohgi's eyebrows shot up.

Kallen undid the many doors along the train, revealing more and more Sutherlands. Ohgi's jaw dropped as he took in the sight of the many Knightmares. The Sutherland with the red markings joined the rest of the resistance group atop the tracks.

'You'll be able to fight evenly with your opponent now. Our struggle requires greater weapons than we have now,' Lelouch said through the Sutherland. 'So therefore I give you the contents of this train. We'll need them.'

"What's this 'we' crap?" Tamaki shouted in his usual aggressive arguing tone. "Why don't you come out that Knightmare and show us your face?" Kallen turned at the argument. She was wondering if Lelouch really would reveal who he was. She gritted her teeth in hesitation. Could she? Should she? Before she could speak, Lelouch interrupted.

'You can call me Zero,' Lelouch said over his speakers. Kallen blinked as he spoke. 'With these weapons and my commands, you can beat Britannia. I'll give you designations as soon as your ready in your Knightmares. They should operate the same as the Glasgow your used to.' Ohgi saw Tamaki giving him an angry glare.

"Everybody, pick a Knightmare," Ohgi ordered. Kallen smiled as the resistance members walked over to the many machines. Ohgi stopped beside her, eying her new uniform. "Change of wardrobe? That's not your usual look."

'After we defeat the army we're going to deal with its commander. I've engaged Kallen into a plan after we take out the rest of the force,' Lelouch explained. 'I hope you don't mind.' Ohgi just eyed the Knightmare with some suspicion. 'It's perfectly fine if you feel it's too dangerous.' Kallen walked over and stood beside Ohgi with a anger written over her face.

"Can you promise she won't get hurt?" Ohgi asked, demanding a commitment from the boy in the giant death machine. Kallen looked at the Sutherland with her own curiosity.

'No,' the machine replied. 'This is war. There may not be casualties today, but we will eventually lose people. But for today, she'll be safe. The task at hand will be simple. Now, get ready. I'm going to begin the plan.' With that, the machine turned and jumped off of the raised railway, surprising Ohgi.

0.0.0

Lelouch closed his eyes with a sigh was he drove down the street. This was exhausting. He might not be a physical wreck, but he didn't have the stamina for this. He toyed with the black king piece in his hand. He'd found the black pieces in the ghetto while Kallen had changed. It was nice to focus on this like a chess game. It was familiar.

He checked the iff display in his cockpit. Three enemy combatants were approaching him from a street that crossed his in a hundred and fifty feet. Lelouch prepped his assault rifle. If he could take out all three, it wouldn't spur on the enemy as much. When the units crossed into the street, he fired and took out the first unit, then quickly reversed. The two began to chase him. He smiled, a wicked smile.

"Ohgi, you're B-1," he said into the radio he'd borrowed from Kallen's coat. "I have two enemies following me. You'll see them on your IFF. Shoot them. Try not to blow me away. Don't give the loud one a gun just yet."

0.0.0

'What do you mean, 'the loud one?!'' Tamaki raged over the radio. Ohgi gritted his teeth.

"Everybody," he told the radio, "check your weapons. Don't shoot Zero. Tamaki, don't shoot at all. Kallen, stick close to Zero, make sure he doesn't die." Ohgi smiled when he heard the affirmatives. In her new Sutherland, Kallen smiled at Ohgi's orders. The dozen resistance members moved to the edge of the railway and took aim. Ohgi sighted Zero's Knightmare, and the two following. "Wait," Ohgi ordered, carefully.

"Fire!" Ohgi said as soon as Zero was clear. The Machine gun fire ripped apart the Knightmares. Zero's stolen sutherland stopped and spun in place to face the destroyed remains of the enemy. Ohgi and Kallen dropped their knightmares down and faced him.

'I'll keep my IFF online for now. We'll destroy the units within the perimeter and see what Clovis does. Kallen,' when Kallen acknowledged, he continued talking. 'Your designation is Q-1. That means your my most important unit, and the most powerful. You'll also act as my personal guard.'

0.0.0

Clovis studied the tactical display in puzzlement. Two units had been taken out following another. Had a knightmare been captured? Clovis stood and walked over to the table display to stand beside the increasingly nervous general Bartley.

"Contact that unit that is alone!" he ordered, gesturing to the large screen. Bartley nodded and began to tap buttons on the table. He nodded to Clovis. "Identify yourself! Name and rank! What unit do you belong to?"

'Ah, the enemy commander, at last,' came a young voice. Clovis's eyes widened. 'And that voice, would I be correct in assuming you are Clovis la Britannia?' Clovis's face twisted into anger at the indignity. Refusing to use his title, what a monkey!

"I am Clovis la Britannia, third prince-"

'Your title is irrelevant. My name and rank do not exist. I am Zero! I now posses over fifty Knightmare Frames and the people to use them. And I declare war on Britannia, starting today!' Clovis was gripped with a sudden terror. If the others heard about this, he'd be ruined! He'd be recalled to the homeland, ruined!

"All units within the encirclement, converge on Zero!" Clovis ordered. Bartley began to order the units to move on a squad to squad basis.

0.0.0

In his Sutherland, Lelouch watched the units begin to turn. Heading for him. He reached out and turned off his IFF. He smiled to himself. This task might be easier than he thought. He checked the maps he had. The underground. He could use it to his advantage.

"Do you all have a map of the old city?" he asked into the borrowed resistance radio.

'Yes,' Ohgi responded. Lelouch smiled again.

"They try so hard to smash us into the dirt, why not show them what we can do with the dirt?" Lelouch asked, chuckling at the delicious irony of his plan. "Find the nearest underground entrances." he began to flash his IFF on and off.

In the main chamber of the mobile commander center, Clovis was smirking at the flashing IFF.

"The madman's broadcasting his location to us. What a stupid monkey," Clovis said hautily. "This is what you Elevens deserve for your crimes against my family." Suddenly the IFF didn't come back on. Clovis raised an eyebrow, confused. Was he trying to escape? The units continued to converge on the location from all sides.

'With this, I call check.'

At the signal, Kallen and Lelouch fired their assault rifles, blowing away the structural supports. The level above them, the ground level, began to collapse. The weight of the Britannian Knightmares susddenly falling in began to collapse the other supports. By that time Lelouch and Kallen were moving away quickly to leave the enemy to fall and die.

Lelouch watched the IFF screen change. There was no indication of the catastrophe, but the IFF signals quickly switched to say 'Signal Lost.' Lelouch merely laughed. It was too easy. He flicked his IFF back on.

In the main chamber, the now solitary IFF signal stood like a dragon to Clovis. He backed away, stammering. Who was this Zero? He was even better than Tohdoh! He was a demon summoned to bring ruin to Clovis!

"How?" Clovis asked the ether, like a whimpering child. "How is this possible?" The screen suddenly changed to the face of Lloyd Asplund. An idea, desperate, struck Clovis's mind like a lighting bolt.

"What are you doing?" demanded Bartley angrily. "We're in the middle of an operation!"

"Lloyd!" Clovis interrupted, loudly. "Can it win? Your little toy?"

'We have everything we need except permission to launch,' Lloyd confirmed, teasingly. 'Are you giving me permission?'

"Can it win?" Clovis pressed, desperately. "Your toy?" Lloyd smiled.

'Certainly. But my lord, please do me the favor of calling it Lancelot.'

0.0.0

Suzaku sat in the closed cockpit of the Lancelot, meditating as he waited. If he could launch, he could save Lelouch and that girl. He could defeat the rebels and stop the violence. But first he needed to launch. He debated launching without permission. If he produced results, maybe he wouldn't get collared for a court-martial. Suzaku began to reach for the controls to disconnect from the hangar when his communications beeped.

'Are you ready, Mr. Suzaku?' Lloyd asked in his usual excited tone. He blinked in surprise.

"You mean we got permission to launch?" Suzaku asked, surprised. He moved his hand from the disconnection controls.

'Yes sir-ee. Get ready, Kururugi, your entire world is about to change!' Lloyd said cheerfully.

'Whether you want it to or not,' Cecile added warningly. 'Are you ready to go, Suzaku?'

"Yes, Miss Cecile," Suzaku replied dutifully. The black tarp was dropped, revealing the white and gold Lancelot. The first seventh generation Knightmare of its kind. Suzaku's thoughts went back to Lelouch and the girl as the rest went through a checklist.

'Okay, Suzaku, you're cleared to launching of Z-01,' Cecile told him over the radio. Suzaku lowered the Lancelot into a crouch like a sprinting athlete, the tips of it fingers touching the ground. The land-spinners engaged, lowering the wheels to the ground.

"Z-01 Lancelot, launching!" Suzaku pressed the buttons on both reins and the wheels screeched into motion. The Lancelot shot forward. Behind him, Cecile and Lloyd were knocked flat by the shock wave of its launch.

0.0.0

Lelouch maneuvered his Sutherland back to street level alongside Kallen. He noted that none of the forces maintaining the encirclement had moved. Maybe he could use one of the sutherlands without the IFFs, claim it was a defective. Then the display made him pause. There was one unit coming from the enemy's center.

'Zero! We can move in on their command center now!' came Ohgi's voice. 'What's your plan?'

"Hold on," Lelouch told the leader. He leaned forward in his chair, puzzled. "They've sent one unit out at us, but it's speed. It's three times faster than a sutherland!" Lelouch realized with a start that is was headed right for his IFF! "N group, move 50 meters ahead of me in the direction of the oncoming unit and prepare to fire!" Four of his units moved up the street as he ordered. He checked the screen again. It was going to be here in-

The white and gold unit was on the four in a few seconds. It rapidly punched the first and ripped its head clean off. It quickly moved to the other two and disabled both in three moves. Then raised its arm and fired a slash harken into the fourth's waist, triggering the auto-eject. Lelouch's eyes were wide in horror. It had disabled a squad in all of two seconds. What kind of monster was this? Ohgi and Kallen began to fire.

"Wait!" he shouted, but it was too late. The white unit scanned them quickly with its fact-sphere sensors in its chest and raised an arm. And the bullets were deflected. Lelouch could see the green shimmer in the air between the unit and the machine gun fire. "It can deflect bullets?" Kallen and Ohgi's guns clicked dry, and Ohgi added a round from his grenade launcher. The explosive threw up a cloud of dust around the white Knightmare.

"Back up," Lelouch ordered quickly. "That thing's going to come for us as soon as that dust is gone, and we're not even in the same league. Retreat, now!"

'You're joking,' Ohgi admonished. 'That thing's gone! Nothing could survive that!' _You're wrong,_ Lelouch thought, gritting his teeth. True to his words, when the dust was falling, the white knightmare was revealed, not even suffering cosmetic damage. 'But how?!'

The machine moved at Ohgi's words, dashing right up to Ohgi's face and ramming its arm into the Knightmare's waist. Ohgi's cockpit was launched by the damage. Lelouch aimed and fired his assault rifle, but the white machine was already moving. Lelouch saw it on his front display with its arm drawn back for an attack. Lelouch's mind froze in a sudden fear.

However, the machine's arm flashing didn't rock the Knightmare around him. Instead now it held two slash harkens in its hand. But where had they...Lelouch looked to his left in realization. Kallen's sutherland had fired its anchors. The white machine crushed the harkens, shattering them, then slashed its arm vertically. Kallen's Sutherland's head was severed at the front of its neck.

"Kallen, eject!" Lelouch ordered, desperately.

'What?' Kallen asked, annoyed, 'you can't take this thing by yourself!'

"I don't plan to, but I made a promise," Lelouch reminded her quickly. "Eject!" In her cockpit, Kallen was shocked by Lelouch's words. Did she mean that much to him? It was a promise to a person he barely knew. "Eject!" Kallen gritted her teeth and yanked on the two levers by the seat. Lelouch rolled away from the white machine and spun to face it in time to see kallen's sutherland fall like a puppet with its strings cut.

"Now," he hissed, angrily, as the white machine turned to face him. "Now it's just you and me. And the rest of my forces." Into his radio, he added, "B group, aim at the machine to my twelve and open fire." They fired just as he planned. The machine reacted just as he had planned, raising its shimmering shield. It headed for the larger group. Lelouch drove his Knightmare rapidly after Kallen's ejection pod.

0.0.0

Suzaku paused to take a deep breath as the fourth unit was disabled. He turned to see if the other unit was still there. It had disappeared, the street appeared empty of any functional Knightmare, save his Lancelot. He began to manipulate the Lancelot by the reins, when his side twitched with pain. His hand went to his side with a pained hiss.

'Mr. Suzaku,' came Cecile's voice, making Suzaku jump. 'Are you getting tired?'

"No," he told her, smiling slightly. "I want to keep going."

0.0.0

Kallen sat with her back to Lelouch as he donned the soldier's coverall. She frowned to herself in thought. _I made a promise._ That's what he'd said. But why had it mattered to him. She glanced over her shoulder as he pulled on the boots. She looked away when she saw Lelouch's head turn to look at her. She reached down and tugged at the bikini line of the knight's borrowed uniform.

"This is a bit revealing," she commented. "How is this supposed to improve survivability?" Lelouch chuckled at her comments, making Kallen glance back at him again. "Earlier, why did you care about me ejecting?" Lelouch froze as he zipped up the coverall.

"I made a promise," Lelouch commented. Kallen turned to look at him now, unimpressed.

"Why would you care about a promise you made to someone you barely know?" Kallen pressed, curiosity and irritation at his deflection in equal measure. Lelouch finished zipping up the coverall and donned the flak jacket, fastening it at his sides. He picked up the helmet and paused with the helmet in his hands.

"I needed him to follow my orders," Lelouch said dismissively. Kallen looked away, frowning to herself. To gain their trust. That was all she was to him, then. Kallen was surprised out of her inner monologue by Lelouch's proffered hand. She blinked at the hand and looked up at Lelouch.

"Are you ready, Kallen?" She saw his face. He was smiling. Like she was a friend. She took his hand and he lifted her to her feet. He paused from his smile. "If you don't want to, I mean, if you have somewhere else you need to be, I'm sure I can get to Clovis by myself now." Kallen blinked at the remark, confused.

"Are you trying to protect me?" Kallen asked, incredulous. Lelouch scowled, annoyed. He let go of her hand and turned and began to walk. Kallen glanced in the direction of the shelter. Ohgi and the rest were probably already there. And then she followed Lelouch.

0.0.0

"Hey, you there!" said one of the soldiers stationed around the Mobile Command center. Lelouch exhaled with relief. Any more walking and he'd rather have given up. And it was poorly guarded. Despite the complication of the white machine showing up. He removed his helmet and felt his showed his power in his eye.

"Allow me to pass," he ordered. The man's face went slack. He heard Kallen walking behind him as the two moved into the control vehicle. His power made short work of all resistance. As he and Kallen entered the elevator, she didn't say anything. Lelouch frowned to himself, remembering their conversation.

"Why did you attack the white knightmare when it was about to take me out?" Lelouch asked suddenly. "I'm an exiled Britannian Prince, the highest target of your enemy." He didn't look at Kallen as he spoke.

"I was defending our commander from an enemy unit," Kallen replied, matter-of-factly. Lelouch looked down, frowning.

"I see," he said. In the corner of his eye, Kallen glanced at him, uncomfortable. Lelouch checked the floor indicator on the control pad and pulled out the gun he'd grabbed. Kallen noticed. When the door opened, Lelouch's left eye burned red with the bird sigil. The general and staff officers instantly began to question him.

"Leave Clovis and I alone," he ordered, "and tell no one that Clovis is alone with me and my friend." The officer's moved from the chamber in a trance as Lelouch stepped past them, aiming the gun at Clovis. "We meet at last. I must say, your reinforcements were most impressive." Clovis reacted as expected.

"You're zero?" he asked, unimpressed. "I thought you'd be older." Lelouch smirked under his helmet. He dropped the pistol and removed the helmet.

"I'd like you to order a cease fire and escort all Elevens from the ghetto," Lelouch said. The darkness obscured his face, but the pistol provided the motivation for Clovis to perform. When he was finished, Clovis sat back and crossed his legs.

"What next, a lovely ballad? A game of chess?" he asked haughtily. Lelouch began to stalk towards Clovis, the gun held out at his side. Kallen began to follow until Lelouch raised a hand for her to stand back. Lelouch smiled as Clovis began to see Lelouch's face. Lelouch kneeled before Clovis as soon as the light was on his face.

"Lelouch vi Britannia, at your service," Lelouch greeted, smiling humorously.

"Lelouch!" Clovis exclaimed with excitement. Lelouch was smiling until he heard several ringing gunshots. Clovis's chest burst into red. Lelouch looked over to the source. Kallen was holding the gun with both hands, crying with rage. Lelouch stood as Clovis began to choke on his own blood.

"That's for all the people you killed today, murderer!" Kallen screamed with rage. Then she fired, again and again, until the pistol in her hand clicked empty. Lelouch looked back at Clovis, wide eyed. Dammit, how was he going to get his answers? He looked back at Kallen angrily. She dropped to her knees, sobbing, shocking Lelouch.

"Naoto," she sobbed, lowering her head. Lelouch walked over and knelt in front of her. He had no idea what to do. Awkwardly, he placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, frowning. Kallen looked up at him, her eyes seeming grateful. Then she threw her head on his shoulder, putting an arm around his neck, sobbing harder.


	2. Chapter 2

**Warlock and the Red Moon**

Disclaimer- I don't own Code Geass. Seriously. I'm not making money off this, which makes me question the entire point. DAMN YOU SUNRISE! GIMME MAH GUNDAMS AND KNEGHTMARE FREHMES!

Tad shorter than last chapter. Wait, does anyone care about shorter boring talking chapters? Gar, I don't know! And for some reason I became a pirate for my pre-fiction notes. Yar-har.

Sorry if I'm making quicker cuts than in my last fic. It just kinda works better for this. For those who didn't read the Black Knight, I changed some of the spellings of certain characters' names. Just sticking with it, since it's easier to use my spellings than reprogram my autocorrect. Btw, anybody notice the Char reference last chapter?

 **Chapter 2**

 _Awkwardly, he placed a comforting hand on her shoulder, frowning. Kallen looked up at him, her eyes seeming grateful. Then she threw her head on his shoulder, putting an arm around his neck, sobbing harder._

Reality snapped back to Lelouch's attention when he was awakened by a newspaper landing on the top of his head. His mind took a second to wake up fully. He looked up at Milly's angry face staring down at him. He frowned.

"I knew you were sleeping Lelouch, your hand wasn't moving!" she exclaimed. Lelouch rolled his eyes and set his cheek into his palm of his empty hand. "Come on, student council! If we don't balance this budget there won't be any left over for school events!" _And yet you only mentioned it the day before the budget reports,_ Lelouch thought to himself in annoyance.

"You could have at least mentioned it sooner," Rivalz said, speaking Lelouch's thoughts aloud. "Or later, so we could just give up." Lelouch smirked at Rivalz suggestion.

"We can still do that," Lelouch pointed out in amusement.

"GUTS!" Lelouch winced at Milly's shout, along with Rivalz and Shirley. Lelouch opened his eyes again to see Milly holding her clenched fists at chest level, emphatically.

"Trying that spell again, are you?" Rivalz asked, incredulous.

"It's done," Nina announced, standing from her computer. Lelouch frowned at the mousy young girl. Nina was just as much a genius as Lelouch, but unlike him, she had motivation. Interesting how different an effect motivation could have. Lelouch stood and walked over, ignoring Nina's nervous glance. Rivalz, Shirley and Milly crowded around the computer to look in at the screen, loaded with numbers.

"Wow, you figured it out already?" Rivalz asked, impressed. Lelouch ignored the commentary the rest of the student council engaged in. He scanned over the balance sheet with professional interest. His eye narrowed as he did the sums in his head. They were all correct. He smiled to himself, satisfied his work was at an end. A door hissed open.

"Um, excuse me," a mousy but familiar voice asked. "I'm here looking for a Lelouch?" Lelouch looked over his shoulder, half turning, to see Kallen standing in the doorway. Around him, four jaws dropped in shock.

" _Thank you, Lelouch," Kallen whispered into his ear. Lelouch's eyes narrowed, unseen, at the girl hugging him. She'd deprived him of his chance to use his power on Clovis. His investigation was set back. Drastically. His thoughts, however, were derailed as her face turned into his cheek, her lips pressing to his jawline._

"I'm Lelouch," he announced, walking over with a smile on his face.

"Wait, Kallen, you know Lelouch?" Milly asked, running over to stand near the pair. Lelouch smiled at Milly, internally thinking of a few possible deceptions to explain the meeting.

"Not really," Kallen commented. Lelouch frowned at her tone. She was seemingly frail. It was completely different from the Japanese girl he'd met in the ghetto. His eyes widened as he realized it, internally. _She wears a mask, too,_ he thought. _The lie of a sickly girl._ "We are friends online, I asked to meet him in real life."

"Like a date?" Milly asked seductively, enthralled at the possibility of a scandal. Lelouch grimaced at her tone. The last thing he needed was rumor of a romance. He'd better kill this one in the crib, fast, or soon Milly would broadcast it all over campus.

"Yes," Kallen replied before Lelouch could. "My step-mother insisted I marry a Britannian from a good family. I'm just dating Lelouch to shut her up." Lelouch's eyes nearly popped out of his skull. _Damn idiot,_ he scolded Kallen internally. _I don't need this kind of rumor going on about me!_ "So if you mind, could I steal Lelouch for an hour, in private?"

"WHAT?!" came Shirley's shout. Everyone spun to see her with her fists besides her shoulders in a shout. "You can't just start sleeping with a man as soon as you meet him! I'll come with you!" Lelouch spun at he suggestion.

"Hey, wait a minute!" He was stopped by an arm around his shoulder. He looked to see that it was Rivalz, who was smiling at him.

"Nice goin', buddy," he said, congratulatory. "Cute and rich, the perfect combination!"

"You think I'm cute?" Kallen asked, raising an eyebrow. It was not an amused eyebrow.

"Wait, we are not entertaining this idea!" Shirley declared, "she barely knows him! What's his favorite food?" The last question was directed at Kallen, who just met Shirley's angry graze and shrugged. Lelouch sighed and covered his face. "It's white rice and tuna! He eats it everyday!" Lelouch blinked at the comment. How the hell did she know that? Did he have a stalker and not even know it?

"I'll buy him the rice and tuna, then," Kallen replied, growling. Her facade was slipping. Shirley's reply was interrupted by Milly putting her arm around Shirley's shoulders, smiling.

"It's best just to let this one go, Shirley," Milly commented, smiling with her eyes closed. "Nothing can ever stand between true love." Lelouch cried out loud at the mention of true love.

"She's not my true love! We just chatted online!" he cried, trying to stop the mad speculations. _How do I always get dragged into these complicated matters?_ Shirley cried out this time, running up to him and grabbing his shoulders.

"How much did you see? You have to clear your mind of whatever she showed you online!" Shirley ordered, shaking him, and almost giving him whiplash. "Her chest? Her-"

"What the hell do you think I am?" Kallen asked angrily. She grabbed Lelouch's shoulder to pull him backward to look over his shoulder at Shirley. "We just chatted online about Shinjuku, there was no disgusting stuff like that you perv!"

"RELAX!" Milly's shouted spell only increased the ever growing verbal storm swallowing Lelouch whole.

"Perv?! I bet you're the perv, chatting with boys online!" Shirley shouted, ignoring the spell. Rivalz, having let go of Lelouch after Shirley's shaking of him, walked over to stand by the now isolated Milly.

"New spell, prez?" he commented.

"What do you do online, you idiot?!" Kallen shouted angrily. Lelouch just looked down at the floor, a spectator to the fight about his own love life. _Teenage girls are way too complicated,_ Lelouch decided internally. He glanced over as Nina just watched the verbal war.

"Idiot?! How dare you berate me, crimson harlot!" Shirley shouted angrily.

"They say gingers have no souls, so you must have zero intelligence to go along with it!" Kallen retorted. Any possibility of a frail, sickly girl being in this room, save for Nina, had evaporated like a underground river hit with a microwave beam. Lelouch walked over to Nina to face her.

"Nina," he pleaded, flatly, "hide me. Bury me in the backyard, with Milly's goldfish."

"Excuse me? I get the highest grades in the swim club!" Shirley asserted, proudly holding a hand over her heart, jutting her chin up in the air.

"That must be why none of what you say holds water," Kallen retorted, turning half away from Shirley and crossing her arms. Shirley glared as Kallen continued. "It just leaks out of all your stupid holes in your skull."

"Hey guys," Milly asked the room, sweetly, "where's Lelouch?" everyone looked around to see that the black-haired resource over which the fight was, had completely disappeared.

On the roof of the building, Lelouch looked up at the sky, sighing in defeat. _I'm going to die here. They're going to kill me._

0.0.0

Lelouch sat through the history class watching Kallen. Shirley kept glancing at him. Lelouch noticed the mirror Kallen was using to keep an eye on him herself. An idea struck Lelouch at the sight of the mirror. He glanced behind him. The sun was right. His paper was thin enough. He grabbed his pen, clicking the top.

Kallen's eyes widened as she saw him writing. What the hell was he doing, keeping notes? She focused on his hand. No, it was too careful. And the strokes and motions were wrong. Was he writing in another language? She thought he knew kanji, but did he know that she did?

Lelouch smiled to himself. This was somewhat clever. He held it up to his face, covering his mouth and nose, pretending to read it. The sun made the paper more transparent, and Kallen could read it through the mirror. He'd written it backwards so it appeared correct in the mirror.

During lunch, the roof. Alone. She angled her head at the message, down. A nod. Lelouch lowered the note, smiling to himself, and began to carefully cover the note's letter with his pen. Destroying the note. It had served its purpose. He blinked as he remembered.

 _He'd turned his face to face her, and their lips had brushed against each other. He was kissing her...softly, chastely... But it was all the more enrapturing from its innocence. And she was kissing him back. The kiss deepened._

He had kissed her.

0.0.0

Kallen approached Lelouch from behind. He was leaning over the stone railing. He seemed lost in thought. She stopped behind him, waiting for him to turn around. A few moments passed. She frowned, annoyed as he failed to notice her. The part that annoyed her the most was that she wanted his attention as a boy _more_ than she wanted to ask him about Shinjuku.

"It's peaceful," Lelouch said, not turning. Kallen blinked in surprise at his sudden speech. "Isn't it?" Kallen looked around the school. She had to admit, it was peaceful. "It's disgusting." Kallen looked back to Lelouch's back, surprised for the second time in several seconds. "We pretend that everything is great, but in reality this world is rotten."

"I want to know more about you," Kallen commented, her voice hard. "You're a Britannian Prince. You could've made a difference then, but here you are. Why?" Lelouch didn't answer for a minute. Kallen frowned in irritation. He was being difficult. Her hand moved to her pink pouch. With the knife in it. He looked over his shoulder at her, and she met his single purple orb. "Are you going to answer me?" she demanded.

"I wasn't," Lelouch replied flatly. Kallen winced and pulled the pouch out. "However," he added, "it would be simpler to have you understand at least some of my motivation." He turned to face Kallen, leaning against the railing. "I have someone whom I feel obligated to protect. I want to build a better world, for her."

"Oh," Kallen said, her eyes wide. She looked down. "Sorry, I thought you didn't have anyone." She thought of the events in the command center. He had someone else. "When...when I... Is it Shirley?" Lelouch blinked his eyes wide, realizing Kallen's thoughts.

"No," Lelouch corrected. "Not like that. Purely platonic relationship, it's not Shirley." He stood straight now. "It's my little sister. There's no one here that interests me romantically." He briefly glanced away. There might be one now.

"I see," Kallen said, disappointed. Lelouch frowned. He had kissed her.

"What about you?" he asked, drawing Kallen's attention. "Do you have anyone?" Kallen frowned, blushing. Lelouch's eyes narrowed. What might he do, he wondered, if she had someone else. "Sorry about what I told the student council," Kallen said, changing the subject. Lelouch frowned, remembering.

"Yes, I'd have preferred a different deception to the one you decided on. It's slightly embarrassing." Kallen blushed again as Lelouch spoke. "Too late now, though." He looked back out over towards the settlement. "I'm preparing for a meeting with your people," he commented. "I have a disguise. I'd rather keep my identity from the others."

"For how long?" Kallen asked, suspiciously. Lelouch frowned, unseen to Kallen. Until the end.

"Until the world is destroyed," He said, his back to Kallen.

0.0.0

Jeremiah and Villeta rode in the car leaving yet another barracks. A perfunctory inspection. Irritating, boring duties. Since Clovis's death. Jeremiah glanced at Villeta. She met his gaze. The gun that had claimed Clovis's life had been Villeta's. But Jeremiah had covered that up.

"My lord," Villeta began. "Bartley has taken the remains to move them to the mainland. But we've made no declaration of his death, or who the murderer is. Perhaps we can use this to our advantage."

"And I've the perfect candidate. He piloted the white Knightmare at the Shinjuku Ghetto," Jeremiah added. "An eleven. Better we lower his standing now, rather than risk him becoming a symbol for the other elevens."

"Then let's move, before Bartley leaves the settlement," Villeta commented. Jeremiah smiled in his typical aristocrat fashion.

0.0.0

Milly sat down on the desk of the principal's office. Her grandfather gave her a knowing smile. They both knew she wasn't going to stop sitting on the desk.

"So, I hear Kallen Stradtfeld has a new boyfriend," her grandfather noted, feigning innocence.

"Our very own prince," Milly confirmed, smiling. "And I thought he didn't like girls."

"By the way," Reuben Asheford added, changing the subject. "Has Kallen joined a club yet? She is still required to join one, but it would be difficult for her to participate in most of the clubs."

"Are you saying you want her to join the student council?" Milly asked, smiling her teasing smile.

0.0.0

 _No place like home,_ Lelouch thought to himself, echoing what he'd said to Sayoko. After dinner he'd tucked Nunnally into bed. No place like home. Perhaps to Nunnally this was steady enough to be home. Lelouch was different. The future seemed like a darkened road. But his new-found power could open a new road for them.

Kallen's face flashed before his eyes. Once with her red headband, and the other with her hair down. He had kissed her. The worst part was, he had no idea why. It was irritating. He'd had enough mysteries in his life, this additional one gnawed at him. He stripped off his red jacket and hung it neatly. His usual routine offered no relaxing mind-numbing.

 _It's funny,_ he thought to himself, _she reminds me of Suzaku._ He blinked as he remembered. Suzaku had been killed. Along with Clovis. He'd won at Shinjuku. He could beat Britannia. If only Suzaku were here. He was shocked from his thoughts by the doorbell.

When he opened the door, he saw Milly standing in the doorway.

"What are you doing here so late?" Lelouch asked, surprised.

"'You?' Ouch, did I hurt you earlier today?" Milly asked, wincing.

"No, sorry," Lelouch said, smiling. "You just have never come over this late. Come in." Milly smiled at him gratefully as she passed him. "Can I get you anything?"

"No, that's okay," Milly replied. She stepped over to the table and picked up and origami crane. "Is Sayoko teaching Nunnally?" Lelouch just frowned at her. Milly didn't make small talk, at least not with him. Milly looked over her shoulder, frowning herself. "Something wrong," she smirked, "your majesty?"

"I haven't been 'your majesty' in years, Milly," Lelouch scorned, eyes narrowing. "You didn't come all this way to talk about origami. Is this about Kallen?"

"I never thought I would see you dating a girl," Milly noted. Lelouch raised an eyebrow.

"Are you suggesting a theory that I prefer men? Because I don't," Lelouch commented dryly. Milly paused for a second and set the crane down.

"Does she know?" Lelouch hesitated for a second. It was all Milly needed to know. She frowned and looked back at him. "Can she be trusted?" Lelouch looked out the window, behind Milly.

"You know me," he commented, smirking to himself. "I consider every decision carefully before I act." In truth, Lelouch hadn't even considered that she was a danger. And he hadn't carefully considered anything involving Kallen. He'd trusted her. But it felt like the right decision. A rogue element. A _human_ element.

 _He'd turned his face to face her, and their lips had brushed against each other. He was kissing her...softly, chastely... But it was all the more enrapturing from its innocence. And she was kissing him back. The kiss deepened._

He had kissed her.

0.0.0

'So how's campus life treating you?' Ohgi asked over the phone. Kallen sighed at the question. Another dull day. But she had been excited in the morning. Because she might see him again. The notion of seeing him again had her excited.

"Stifling," Kallen replied, flatly. Another half-truth, to Ohgi now. "Can I come back soon?"

'The military is still up in arms. Stay in school until things settle down,' Ohgi advised. She could hear him smiling over the phone. 'I'm sure Naoto would be glad to see you in school again.' She frowned at the mention of his name.

"Okay," Kallen replied. "I'll be in touch."

'Any problems?' Ohgi asked, concerned.

"No," Kallen confirmed. "See you later." She closed the phone, ending the call.

"Boring conversation?" came Lelouch's voice from right behind Kallen. Kallen screamed in surprise, jumping a foot in the air. She spun on him, angrily.

"Do you mind not giving me a heart attack?!" she roared at him. He smirked sheepishly. And she'd been excited to see him. She narrowed her eyes at him. "And what are you doing here anyway?" Lelouch raised one of his hands, holding a novel.

"I come up here to read," Lelouch commented. "I'm not a morning person, so during first period I come up here to read." He lowered the book in his hands. "But, it looks like you're not interested in literature. So, what were you talking about?"

"Nothing that concerns you!" Kallen said, looking away. Lelouch frowned at the words.

"I could _make_ you tell me," he reminded. Kallen turned back to him, concerned. They hadn't discussed his mysterious power. "Or maybe I already did." Kallen blinked. This was true, and there would be no way to tell. She grabbed the front of his jacket, dragging him closer, over his irritated cry.

"What did you make me do?" she growled into his face. He adopted a frown of irritation. "Tell me, Lelouch! Did you use your magic on me?" Lelouch's face twitched at the wording.

"Whether it's magic or something else, I didn't use it on you," he promised, smiling to ease her suspicions. "If it would help, I could use it on you right now." He accessed the power quickly, letting it light up in his eyes. "Now answer my question."

"Not a chance-" Kallen was saying, until her eye tinted red. "Go on."

"Why did you kiss me?" Lelouch asked.

"Because I was lonely," Kallen said under the power of his power.

"Thank you," Lelouch said. The tint in Kallen's eyes died. "And now I've used my power on you. Feel better?" Kallen's face twisted in sudden fury. Despite himself, he found himself terrified of her. He hid it behind face.

"And what's to stop you from doing it again?" Kallen asked angrily. "You plan to just control people with that power, don't you!" Lelouch lit up his eye with his power again.

"Lower your voice, people will hear you," Lelouch commented, using his power again.

"All high and mighty aren't you?!" Kallen angrily asked again. Lelouch's eyes widened. She didn't follow his command. **But she had to.** Because he used his power. Unless...a weakness?! He supposed it was better to figure them out sooner rather than later.

"Don't worry, you're immune now," He assured, adopting a friendly smile again.

"That's not the point!" Kallen shouted, still angry. Lelouch sighed internally. She was going to be difficult, wasn't she? "I should've known you'd be no better than any other Britannian!" she continued to rage as he leaned in. He reached behind her and drew her in. Her lips suddenly met his. Then she gripped his hair and yanked his head down, away from her lips. "And don't kiss me like that again, Lelouch."

"Ow, sorry, let me go," he pleaded in pain. She let go of his hair, and he lost his balance as she did. He fell and Kallen stepped over him to leave the roof. "I apologize." She stopped and glanced over her shoulder at him. "If it helps, I planned to defeat Britannia without this power. And if I produce a miracle, they'll trust me without my power."

"What kind of miracle?" Kallen asked suspiciously. Lelouch chuckled.

"No idea yet," Lelouch admitted. _I've got to figure out all my power's weaknesses first._

0.0.0

Lelouch walked along the campus sidewalk. Finding conditions to test his power had been difficult, initially. But it was no longer a problem. If he ordered a person to do something over time, he didn't need to order them to do it again. Order someone to mark a wall everyday, he didn't need to order them to do it every day.

As he passed another group of students, Lelouch adopted his fake smile. He could order someone only until he broke eye contact. If he didn't break eye contact he could plant multiple commands. Blinking provided no problems, but closing the eye for longer could break the contact.

He could reach out to two hundred and seventy two feet. And there was no upper limit to the number of people that he could command at once, other than the range distance. That would be useful perhaps, someday.

Kallen. He'd used it on Kallen. And he couldn't use it on her ever again. She knew who he was, that he had a special power. Fortunately, he could trust her to at least follow some of his commands. But her emotions. She'd killed Clovis before he could get his answers. About who killed his mother. Lelouch's hand curled into a fist.

 _If she turns out to be a problem, I may have to get rid of her,_ Lelouch thought to himself. He paused mid-step. Could he eliminate her, though? He found hiimself remembering the feel of her lips against his. The skin of her back.

"Lelouch!" came Milly's call, shaking from his thoughts. "Come quick!" she sounded worried. Worry hit Lelouch like a slap in the face. Nunnally! Could Kallen have figured it out? What would she do? He ran to the student council room from where Milly's shout had come. He entered the room to see Kallen standing surrounded by the student council.

"What?" Lelouch asked with hard breathing and confusion. He saw Nunnally sitting right next to Kallen. Safe and sound.

"We're inducting Kallen into the student council!" Milly announced, smirking. Lelouch slumped, sighing in exasperation. "Wow, how out of shape are you?" Lelouch gritted his teeth, irritated at Milly's pointing out his lack of stamina. "It was grandfather's idea. Since she would have a hard time with one of the other clubs."

"The school president?" Lelouch asked, looking back up at Milly. He could use his power to undo this before Kallen got too close.

"Thank you," Kallen said in her demure schoolgirl act. "I'm really excited to finally be in a club." Lelouch narrowed his eyes at her smile. She wasn't even respecting any boundaries. But he couldn't use his power on all of them since he'd used it on Kallen already. And he couldn't use it on Nunnally, and he couldn't lie. Not to her. He'd just have to accept this.

"Well, if the School President thinks so," Lelouch commented, smiling, "who am I to disagree?"

"I'm Milly," the blonde told Kallen. "The student council president! Oh, and I think you know Lelouch, the vice-president already." Lelouch noted Shirley frowning at him. Maybe he could use that to his advantage. Lelouch ran through a dozen possible solutions as the council members introduced themselves to Kallen. Until it was Nunnally's turn.

"I'm Lelouch's little sister Nunnally," she announced sweetly. Smiling her beautiful smile the entire time. Kallen was taken aback at the wheelchair-bound girl. Now she knew his weakness. "I'm a freshman so I'm too young to be on the Student Council."

"That's okay, you're an honorary member in our books!" Rivalz added. Then he held up a bottle of champagne. _Where did he get that?_ Lelouch wondered. "So, shall we make it official!" Shirley gave a shout and reached to grab the bottle.

"No, you'll get us in trouble!" Shirley protested, trying to grab the bottle as Rivalz evaded. Rivalz tossed the bottle to Lelouch. Lelouch stepped forward to grab the bottle. Just as he grabbed the bottle, he tripped and began to fall. The loosened top of the bottle, hitting the ground as Lelouch did, finally shot off, over Kallen's head. The spray then landed directly on her red hair.

"What happened?" Nunnally asked.

0.0.0

"This is why I hate Britannians," Kallen decided aloud as she ran her fingers through her hair. "Although I guess I shouldn't judge." She heard a knock on the door.

"It's Lelouch," came the voice through the door. "I brought some clothes you can wear."

"It's okay," Kallen replied, trying to speak over the sounds of the shower. "I've drawn the curtain already." She heard the door open and closed. Then she realized she was alone with him. "Who knows you're here?" she asked accusingly, suddenly worried. Lelouch paused a moment before answering.

"No one," he hissed. Kallen could hear his smirk. Her heart jumped into her throat. "It's just you and me, Kallen." Kallen was about to scream when Lelouch began laughing. "I'm just kidding. Milly and Shirley have your clothes in the washing machine. Rivalz is cleaning the carpet. Nunnally went back to her room."

"Your sister?" Kallen asked. Lelouch winced and then frowned.

"I suppose I should tell you the _whole_ story," Lelouch admitted. "You know that I was born Lelouch vi Britannia, eleventh son of Charles zi Britannia. What you don't know is that my mother was Marianne Lamperouge, a commoner by birth. Mother was a pilot for an early prototype Knightmare Frame and rose to become a Knight of the Rounds. After that-"

 _Machine gun fire shattered the glass windows. His mother jumped atop his sister, shielding her as their mother was shredded by gunfire._ Lelouch winced, looking down.

"I have no idea who killed my mother. During the attack, Nunnally's legs were shot. And afterward, she couldn't open her eyes again. They blamed it on terrorists, but that deep in the palace? I'm sure it was a political killing. But who ordered it? I was going to ask Clovis, but..." Kallen winced behind the curtain.

"Then, your plan to defeat Britannia," Kallen asked, remembering from earlier. "It's all for Nunnally?" She smiled at the boy in the room with her. He acted all rough, but he really was just a softie. She pulled the curtain aside just slightly to peek around it. Lelouch was brooding. _Why did he have to be cute and a softie?_ Kallen thought helplessly to herself. Part of her even thought about pulling the curtain back the rest of the way.

Lelouch's eyes looked back at Kallen, meeting her gaze. She gave a small yelp and yanked the curtain back into place. She pressed her ear closely to the curtain, covering herself as best she could, should he try to come over. He just chuckled.

"Don't worry, I didn't see anything," Lelouch promised. "Although," his tone switched back to mischievous. "If you wanted me to join you-"

"Don't you dare, Lelouch!" Kallen warned, terrified at the idea of him coming into the shower.

"Lelouch," Milly said through the door. "Nunnally says you need to come quick. Something on the news about Clovis's killer." Kallen leaned around the curtain to see Lelouch meet her gaze. Clovis's killer. Had there been cameras in the control room. Lelouch walked to the door.

"Get dressed," he ordered as he walked. "You might need to introduce Zero to your friends properly sooner than anticipated."

As soon as Lelouch was out of the room, Kallen dressed quickly. Had the Britannians seen her face? Her Britannian identity might keep her safe for now. She stepped out and was greeted by Lelouch. Milly led them back to the student council business room. Shirley, Rivalz, and Nunnally were crowded around the television.

"Lelouch, it's awful!" Nunnally cried. "They're saying Prince Clovis was killed." Lelouch and Kallen walked over to stand behind Nunally's wheelchair. Lelouch's eyes widened at the brown-haired Japanese being held in the restraints.

'New information just received, the murder has been caught. Private Suzaku Kururugi has been apprehended for the murder.'

0.0.0

Lelouch walked Kallen home in silence. He'd thought Suzaku had been killed. But he'd had no chance to check after the explosion of the truck. Lelouch gritted his teeth. He'd been so callous as to forget Suzaku completely. Perhaps his one true friend. He clenched his hand into a fist.

Kallen, perhaps sensing his anger, kept glancing nervously at him. She didn't think it was a good sign that he seemed to be ignoring her. It annoyed her that it stung her.

"Oh why do I even care?" she asked aloud.

"What?" Lelouch asked. Kallen jumped, realizing she'd said it aloud.

"Uh, nothing!" Lelouch frowned at Kallen's dismissal.

"There is one thing I didn't ask about," Lelouch noted, thoughtfully. Kallen glared at him, wondering what he was talking about this time. "Our kiss." Kallen hesitated at the mention. She regained her composure quickly.

"If you call that a kiss," Kallen commented. Lelouch narrowed his eyes at the insult. "It's not like you were the first boy I ever kissed. And you were certainly the worst." Lelouch absorbed this, thoughtfully. She was too defensive.

"I think that was your first kiss," Lelouch deduced. Kallen winced. She'd never admit it, but Lelouch was right. "I have a few things I have to get before I meet your friends." He turned away, heading down another street. "Tokyo Tower, at three o'clock. Of course, bring your friends. I'm anxious to meet them, Kallen Kozuki." Kallen watched his receding back, dumbstruck at him.

 _Suzaku,_ he said internally. _Time to repay you for in the Shinjuku Ghetto. Together, we can destroy this cruel world._


	3. Chapter 3

**The Demon and The Red Moon**

Disclaimer: the following is a non-profit fanfiction. Code Geass is owned by Sunrise...i think. Please support the official release.

 **This chapter was a pain in my ass. I need to get paid for this or something.**

Turn 03- Orange

"Congratulations!" Suzaku opened his eyes, surprised by Lloyd's sudden greetings. "Those two you asked about weren't on the casualty list." Suzaku smiled, at the news. Lelouch was still alive. "No good luck on your end, however."

"But the courts are where truth comes to light!" Suzaku replied. Lloyd smiled at Suzaku's words. He was strangely naive for a soldier.

"There'll be more smoke and mirrors than anything," Lloyd admitted, sadly. "I suspect the Purebloods are using this incident to gain power. So how does that feel? You're being used as a political tool." Suzaku winced. Just like Lelouch and Nunnally, seven years ago.

"Is this the state of the world? Is this what the world is really like?" Suzaku wondered aloud, frowning at his realization. Lloyd frowned at Suzaku's words.

"Private Kururugi," Lloyd said carefully, "is this your first time falling afoul of the law?" Suzaku's wince answered Lloyd's question. "I hate to point it out to you but the world isn't a nice place."

"If that's the way the world works," Suzaku decided, steeling himself. "So be it, I've no regrets!"

0.0.0

Lelouch helped Nunnally from her chair, his arm beneath her shoulders and thighs. She was getting heavier. It reminded Lelouch that she was growing. That their time was beginning to run out. She'd be a full-grown woman soon. Too soon. Would she start following after boys? Lelouch smiled in sympathy for the broken hearts sure to follow.

"Lelouch," Nunnally asked, her voice flush with concern. "What they were saying about Suzaku, it's not true is it?" Lelouch smiled at his sisters compassion.

"No of course not," Lelouch assured. The one who killed Clovis...was him. It may not have been his hand, but he had caused it. If he hadn't helped that group, they would've almost certainly been killed. Their lives were in his hands.

"It's all just a big misunderstanding," Lelouch assured, smiling. Nunnally smiled back at him. "Go to sleep, Nunnally," he ordered softly, placing a soothing hand on her hair. He stroked her hair gently until she finally fell asleep. "When you open your eyes, this world will be different. I swear."

He spun and walked out of Nunnally's bedroom. He paused as Kallen's face flashed through his mind. What was she thinking right this moment? He supposed he could find out. It wouldn't be that hard to find out where she lived.

"What am I thinking?" Lelouch chided himself, sighing. He took a detour heading for his office with the computer. He was stopped by the sight of Nina still bent over the computer. "Nina, do you know what time it is?" The black-haired mouse of a girl jumped as he spoke, then looked around to the darkened windows.

"I'm sorry," Nina muttered softly, avoiding eye contact with Lelouch. "I got caught up in my work again." She turned back to the computer. "I'm just so close to having it finished! When this is completed, we could have unlimited energy for everybody on the planet!"

"Unlimited power," Lelouch muttered to himself, thoughtfully. There was already a power like that in this world. And he had control of it.

0.0.0

"GUTS!" Lelouch was stirred awake suddenly by another of Milly's spells. He looked around to see Kallen working on her information for the student council. Kallen noticed him looking at her, then looked back to her paperwork.

"You think that guy really killed the prince?" Rivalz wondered aloud. Lelouch blinked at the words. _No,_ Lelouch thought. _Suzaku didn't kill Clovis. The military is using him as a scapegoat to pursue an agenda._ Lelouch glanced at Kallen. She was listening to Rivalz as well. _What are you thinking? What is your opinion of Suzaku?_

"That eleven?" Nina asked, fearfully. Nina's fear of elevens might be justified. Not this time.

"What do you think, Lelouch?" Rivalz asked. Lelouch looked up.

"I think it's just more politics by the military," Lelouch commented. "They're using an accident to try to gain more power. More proof that the world doesn't work."

"Doesn't work?" Shirley asked from between Lelouch and Kallen. "Are you planning to change the world all by yourself?" Lelouch grinned to himself.

"Now that's silly," Lelouch said humorously. "How could one school-boy change the world?" Rivalz chuckled as Lelouch changed his face into a smile. Shirley and Milly laughed. Kallen just watched him carefully.

"I just remembered, I have to get home for a doctor's visit," she said, standing. Lelouch stood with and gave her a friendly smile.

"I'll walk you home," he offered. Kallen gave him a fake smile. She walked from the student council room. Lelouch followed behind, stuffing a hand in his pocket. As soon as the door closed she began to speak again.

"What are you planning?" Lelouch looked at the back of Kallen's head, uninterested.

"What do you mean?" Lelouch asked, curious.

"You aren't going to let the military get away with this, are you?" Kallen asked, not turning.

"I had no intention of claiming responsibility for Clovis's murder," Lelouch announced. "However, Suzaku Kururugi is no murderer."

"He's a Britannian soldier, of course he's a murderer," Kallen argued angrily.

"Are you a soldier?" Lelouch asked. Kallen stopped, and Lelouch nearly bumped into her. His hand accidentally brushed her hind end, and her face turned red. Lelouch heard a slap and saw stars, and the next thing he knew he was on the floor. And his cheek was burning.

"Don't touch me you pervert!" she shouted at him. The doors in the hallways suddenly opened, and heads began to peek out. She looked around and blushed, then gasped and began to quickly walk away. Lelouch sat up as people began to murmur. _Oh what fresh hell is this?_ He sighed to himself.

"Lelouch!" came Shirley's angry voice. Lelouch looked over his shoulder to see the ginger rapidly running at him. He gave a shout and jumped to his feet. "A lady should never be touched without her permission you pervert!" she shouted as she began to chase him.

"Wait, Shirley!" Lelouch cried at the form pursuing him. "It was an accident!" he passed Kallen, who stopped in place, her eyes wide.

"Oh, no," she said in realization. "I stopped walking too soon." At the other end of the hall, Milly and Rivalz were watching from the door to the student council room.

"RIVALZ, HELP ME!" Rivalz and Milly winced at Lelouch's cry as they heard the crash.

"What the hell did I run into?" Lelouch wondered aloud as he tried to extricate himself from the band equipment. He gasped, remembering why he'd been running. He saw Shirley holding a large bass drum over her head. "Shirley," he said calmly, trying to reason with her. Then Lelouch cried out as Shirley dropped the drum on his head like an iron hammer.

"Sorry," Kallen muttered apologetically later. Lelouch was sitting in the student council room, holding a bag of ice to the top of his head as Kallen stood over him. Lelouch looked up from under the icepack on top of his head, arching an eyebrow.

"You think sorry is going to cover this?" he asked incredulously. Kallen winced. "Sorry is for when you trip someone. Sorry is for dropping food on the other person. Near-concussions are a little more serious."

"Oh shut up, you don't have a concussion," Kallen reminded, annoyed.

"The day isn't over yet," Lelouch refuted. "Maybe Shirley will find the steel flag poles next." Kallen rolled her eyes as Lelouch finished.

"Hey buddy," Rivalz said from the door as he entered. "Classes have been Canceled for this afternoon. People have been asking for a rematch." Lelouch dropped his head and groaned at the pain in his skull. He could barely think, let alone play chess. He smirked as he wondered if the game would finally be even in his state.

"No, thank you Rivalz," Lelouch said, wincing as he spoke. "I have a date with Kallen tonight."

"Oh-ho," Rivalz said, chuckling and crossing his arms with a smirk. "A little _romance,_ huh?" Kallen narrowed her eyes at the implication but said nothing. Lelouch chuckled at Rivalz.

"Nothing special, I can assure you," he said jokingly.

"Alright," Rivalz said, turning to leave, "but you better give me the gory details later, you lucky bastard." Lelouch chuckled at Rivalz until his friend left.

"We are not dating," Kallen argued defiantly. Lelouch sighed and removed the ice pack from his head, setting it down on the table.

"You shouldn't have told them that we were dating then," Lelouch reminded, not looking at her.

"Look," she began, angrily. She grabbed the top of his head.

"Ow!" Lelouch yelped. Kallen let go of his hair with a jump, reminded at the condition of his head. "Watch the head, will you?"

"Sorry!" she repeated emphatically.

0.0.0

"Do you recognize this weapon?" Jeremiah Gottwald asked Suzaku. Suzaku ignored the plastic-wrapped pistol. He was surrounded and bound.

"I've never seen that weapon before," Suzaku affirmed. He was knocked sideways by a blow. The punch dazed him and made his vision spin. He fought to regain his equilibrium. Jeremiah set the evidence bag down carefully.

"It is a model you're familiar with, however?" Jeremiah asked, carefully.

"Yes," Suzaku replied, dutifully.

"But you claim that this gun is not yours?" Jeremiah added, cocking his head to the side.

"No." Suzaku's reply was immediately met with a blow to the head.

"We found your fingerprints all over this weapon," Jeremiah informed, turning his head straight again. Of course, it wasn't the gun that killed Clovis. But no one knew that. "The barrel markings match the bullet that robbed prince Clovis of his life. Come clean now and you'll be judged as a Britannian instead of a number."

"You've got it all wrong!" Suzaku argued, before another blow hit him.

"Tell me, was General Bartley involved in your plan? He left his highness alone in the G-1. Or did he just run away like a coward? Personally I'd never believe Bartley had the intelligence to come up with this kind of thing, but he did leave the Prince unguarded." Suzaku growled to himself.

"Why would I kill Prince Clovis?" he asked, trying to reason with Gottwald.

"You were the son of Japan's last prime minister," Jeremiah reminded, but it was as if he was stating it matter of factually. As if Suzaku didn't know who his own father was. "You still carry his pocket watch with you. During the Shinjuku incident, I would imagine you were particularly angry that so many of your kind were being slaughtered."

"It's called motive," Gottwald's orange-haired subordinate stated. Suzaku winced.

"Of course I was disgusted," Suzaku admitted. Jeremiah smiled. "But wouldn't anyone be angry about the cold-blooded murder of innocent people? But I wouldn't kill my superior over it!"

"And I would believe that," Jeremiah said honestly, "if you hadn't murdered the prince."

"You're wrong," Suzaku argued.

"That's for your court-martial to determine," Jeremiah declared, standing. He left the interrogation cell and turned to Villeta. "Everything was recorded?"

"Yes, my lord," Villeta replied.

"Good," Jeremiah replied, smirking. "Have the TV man edit it for the Court-martial. I'm sure he'll be able to make the eleven look guilty."

0.0.0

Lelouch carefully packed the new clothes into a back pack. He was ready. He checked his watch. And just in time, too. He grabbed the new cell phone, especially bought for Kallen and her friends. He mentally ran through his plan as he walked over to Tokyo Tower.

He stepped round a corner and ran into a tall Japanese man in worn clothes. Lelouch let out a breath as he recovered his footing and looked up at the man. It was Ohgi, Kallen's friend from the Shinjuku Ghetto.

"Sorry 'bout that," Lelouch apologized, smiling a friendly smile.

"That's okay," Ohgi assured, smiling in return.

"Get lost!" Tamaki said angrily at Lelouch, from behind Ohgi. Lelouch acted like a wimp, (no stretch, for him,) and quickly ran across the street.

"Sorry again!" he shouted over his shoulder.

"That wasn't polite," Ohgi said over his shoulder at Tamaki. "He's just a kid."

 _That was close,_ Lelouch thought in irritation, gritting his teeth. He looked up the street and saw Kallen waving. Lelouch glanced over his shoulder to see Ohgi waving back. Dammit, if Kallen pointed him out to Ohgi, his identity was ruined! He needed to hide, quickly. A taxi was up on the street. Lelouch quickly ran to it and got in.

"Where to?" the driver asked in the mirror. Lelouch let his power burn up his eye.

"Drive," Lelouch ordered. The driver was offended for exactly half a second before taking off. Kallen didn't see him as he passed. "Take me to Tokyo Tower," he ordered. The order would still technically work. He was just specifying where the man should drive to.

Kallen smiled at Ohgi as the three of them joined her on the sidewalk.

"Tokyo Tower," Kallen informed Ohgi. Ohgi frowned and looked up at the remnants of the tower. The top half had been blown apart by the Britannian Invasion. The quartet continued to move towards the tower. Kallen found herself stunned by the size of the landmark as they entered.

"Who is this Zero character, that he'd want to meet us here? Here at a symbol of our defeat." Kallen frowned and looked over her shoulder at Ohgi.

"I don't know," Kallen admitted. _Lelouch, what are you doing?_ Kallen asked herself internally, suspiciously. She looked back ahead as they entered the elevator.

"Was it Suzaku Kururugi?" Ohgi asked, worried. "He could've gotten a message out before he was captured. But if that's the case-"

"It was Zero," Kallen corrected. "That man in Shinjuku." The elevator door opened. Lelouch hugged the wall as Kallen and her friends left the elevator. He kept his face turned the other way. As soon as Kallen and her friends were past, he moved into the elevator. He nodded at the receptionist. She smiled, her red-tinted eyes widening slightly as the doors closed.

"Excuse me, miss?" the receptionist called, distracting Kallen. "I think this is yours." She held something black out in her hand. Kallen widened her eyes as she realized what it was. A cell phone.

"Thank you," Kallen said, smiling at the receptionist. She took the small black phone.

"What?" the woman asked, shaking her head. "What was I doing?" Kallen blinked. He used it on that woman. Lelouch used that mysterious power. The phone rang. The caller ID read 'Zero.' Kallen looked at Ohgi, waiting for his answer. He nodded, and Kallen answered the phone.

0.0.0

Lelouch was waiting for them when they stepped into the front car of the train. Lelouch looked ahead. The tunnel was coming up, just as he planned. He didn't turn yet.

" _Look to your right,"_ Lelouch told them, not turning. _"What do you see?"_

"The Britannian city," Ohgi commented, not understanding.

"It was stolen from us," Kallen added, bitter. "And built on our sacrifice." Lelouch smiled inside his mask. That was correct. He'd seen it built on their sacrifice. Though Kallen probably had too.

" _And on the left?"_ Lelouch added, looking up to see the tunnel.

"Our city," Kallen replied. "The city that the Britannians left us after they sucked it dry."

" _Good answer,"_ Lelouch commented, smiling to himself. The tunnel was almost here.

"Who are you?" Ohgi asked. The tunnel was here. Lelouch spun to face them. They recoiled at his appearance in shock. A black cloak and purple uniform. And a helmet to protect his identity. Kallen stared at him as if he were a madman. And he might be.

" _I am Zero,"_ Lelouch declared.

"So you were the one in Shinjuku?" Ohgi asked, unbelieving.

" _I was,"_ Lelouch confirmed, nodding once.

"What's with the mask?" Tamaki asked angrily.

" _I wanted you to grasp the difference. Between the Japanese City and Britannian City."_ He raised both arms one at a time, gesturing to the windows where the cities had been sighted through. _"The difference seems insurmountable, doesn't it?"_

"What's that mean?" Ohgi asked, pausing. Lelouch blinked inside his helmet.

" _Insurmountable? Like cleaning a skyscraper with a stepladder."_ Lelouch explained. _Dear god,_ Lelouch thought to himself. _If I'm going to have to explain every other word I might as well join the Japan Liberation Front. At least they have resources._

"I knew what the word meant," Ohgi corrected. "I know there's a difference. A harsh one. That's why we resist them."

" _You're mistaken,"_ Lelouch commented. _"Britannia won't be defeated by terrorism."_

"What other option is there?" Kallen asked angrily. "Why don't you lose that mask?"

" _This mask is not for me,"_ Lelouch declared. Ohgi and the others were suddenly confused. Kallen understood, judging by her narrowing eyes. _"There is someone I must protect. Until then, I must hide my face from our enemies. However, if you do not trust me, trust Kallen. She's seen my face and knows who I am. I ask that you not question her about it."_

"I see," Ohgi replied, frowning in discontent. Lelouch watched him carefully as Ohgi frowned at him. No, Ohgi was frowning at Zero. He eyed Kallen, who watched him with one eye. He frowned more deeply. "I guess we can at least trust you not to kill us all."

" _I could've done that in Shinjuku,"_ Lelouch joked, cocking his head to the side in a smile. Ohgi smirked at the joke, despite himself. _"Now, it's time to properly introduce myself to Britannia as well. Suzaku Kururugi is being moved to a court-martial tomorrow. I only require one more piece in order to prevent an innocent man's execution."_ He pulled the photo out from beneath his cloak, and held it out to Kallen. She took it and looked at it, then showed Ohgi.

" _All that matters is the exterior. I'll provide the other two items,"_ Lelouch said, informatively.

"What are they?" Ohgi asked, curious.

" _Since you asked, the first is a Knightmare Frame,"_ Lelouch said, moving his arm back beneath his cloak. _"The second was the capsule that you stole. It didn't contain what you thought it contained. However, we can turn the Britannian lie into a Japanese truth."_

"It wasn't poison gas?" Ohgi asked. Kallen seemed stunned by this revelation as well. Lelouch frowned at that. She'd seen the occupant. Or did she not know how he'd gotten his new power? "Well, what was it then?" Lelouch thought for exactly a second.

" _It was Pandora's Box. And it released me unto the world."_

0.0.0

'Do you recognize this weapon?' Jeremiah's voice sounded from the tape player.

'Yes,' Suzaku's voice replied.

'The barrel markings match the bullet that robbed prince Clovis of his life. Come clean now and you'll be judged as a Britannian instead of a number.'

'Why would I kill Prince Clovis?'

'During the Shinjuku incident, I would imagine you were particularly angry that so many of your kind were being slaughtered.'

'Of course I was disgusted,' Suzaku's voice admitted. Diethard clicked the tape to stop playing.

"Excellent," Jeremiah complimented, smiling.

"Thank you, my lord," Diethard said, bowing slightly. Jeremiah looked to the left of the desk where he sat. They had appropriated Bartley's office quickly. Seeing as the fool had no further need for it. Jeremiah blinked when Diethard offered the tape recording. He smiled and took the tape. "I have another favor to ask."

"I thought you would, sir," Diethard replied flatly.

"Suzaku Kururugi's court-martial. It would serve us if it were a highly public event."

"We should line the road with good, patriotic Britannians," Diethard finished, his eye flashing with intuition. Jeremiah smirked. Not just for women, then.

"You catch on quickly," Jeremiah noted whimsically. "Ever thought of enlisting? The military could use more men like you." Diethard kept his face perfectly nuetral. _He's not just nuetral,_ Jeremiah thought to himself. _He's like me. Bored to death._

"I don't think it would be a good fit," Diethard admitted.

"You prefer the civil sector I take it," Jeremiah deduced. "No matter. As you guessed, we should make the trial and execution a live public event."

"Understood, sir," Diethard responded dutifully. Jeremiah frowned. This newsman was getting old quickly playing the passive observer.

"Margrave Jeremiah," Villeta began, from behind Gottwald's shoulder. "There are some who view Kururugi as a hero. They might try to free him." Jeremiah anticipated this information. Part of him even longed for it. It'd been too long since he'd had a _real_ battle.

"We'll be there personally in Knightmares. If anyone even thinks of trying something, they'll be executed on the spot."

0.0.0

Lelouch was carefully wiring the capsule. It had taken less time than he'd thought. Ohgi was set in the loader. Kallen sat in the front of the car, ready for his word. He sighed when he was finished. He stood and closed the remaining open petal of the capsule. He stepped from the carriage in the back of the car and sat down beside Kallen. She eyed him as he sat down.

"The surprise is ready, and the event is about to being. It's almost time," Lelouch said aloud, crossing his legs in the passenger seat. He noticed that Kallen was still looking at him. He turned his head so he was meeting her gaze with a disinterested expression. She looked away. Lelouch turned his head away, but narrowed his eyes as he kept his gaze on her.

"You're being quiet," Lelouch noted, bored. "Did I do something wrong again?" Kallen didn't answer. Lelouch frowned at her silence. He glanced down at her driver's uniform with disdain. "This outfit doesn't suit you. I liked your borrowed Britannian uniform much better." Kallen's lips pressed together and she blushed.

"Shut up," she told him.

"Why? Do you dislike being complimented on your beauty?" Lelouch probed, smiling a confident grin. Kallen blinked and looked at Lelouch, uncomfortable. Lelouch leaned closer to her, but stopped before he could touch her.

"Stop teasing me," she said, uncomfortable.

"I'm not teasing you," Lelouch corrected, smiling sincerely this time. "By any standards you're a beautiful girl. But," he added, cocking his head, "you dislike that beauty?" Kallen didn't answer, still watching him, blushing a fierce pink.

"I'd rather be complimented as a soldier than as a girl," she finally answered. Lelouch's smile changed from a sincere smile to one of amusement, and he leaned away again.

"I understand," he commented, looking ahead. "I'll admit thought, that kiss of ours has been on my mind lately. It's been rattling around my memory, resurfacing at all the wrong moments. But I don't think the kiss in and of itself was wrong. In fact..." he glanced back at Kallen, dropping off.

 _I liked it, too,_ she thought, not looking at Lelouch. If they were about to die, she'd want to go out knowing someone loved her. She mentally prepared herself to ask when he spoke again.

"It's time to go," he announced, standing and heading into the back. Kallen winced as he did. She'd missed her chance. Maybe her last chance. In the back of the vehicle, Lelouch unpacked the last items of his uniform.

 _All tasks have been cleared,_ he told himself, pulling on his black gloves.

 _If you stop, you die,_ he wrapped his black cloak around himself.

 _There's no need to turn back,_ he held his mask up to his face, staring into the visor.

He turned the mask and drew it over his face. _The die is cast._

Two minutes later he stood before the military convoy, surrounded by Britannian Knightmare frames. _So far all according to plan,_ Lelouch thought to himself. Of course, if it hadn't been according to plan, he wouldn't have even gotten this far. But Kallen probably didn't want to know that.

"Who are you?" Margrave Gottwald asked rudely, gesturing with a firearm. Utterly moronic. Lelouch noted a camera being aimed at him. He looked directly at it.

" _I am...Zero,"_ he announced, keeping his cloak wrapped around him. _"Suzaku Kururugi, I'd like you to hand him over to me."_ Jeremiah's eyes widened at the request.

"He's guilty of murdering Prince Clovis! I can't hand him over!" Jeremiah argued, angrily.

" _You're mistaken,"_ Lelouch announced. Behind Jeremiah, Villeta stiffened. Her gun had killed Clovis. But who had been aiming it? _"The hand by whom Clovis was slain...belonged to me!"_ Kallen stiffened, glancing over her shoulder. He was taking responsibility for her act.

"A trade, then," Jeremiah reasoned, before aiming the gun directly at Zero. "You for Kururugi."

" _I think not,"_ Lelouch countered. _"Unless you want the world to know about Orange."_

"Enough joking around!" Jeremiah declared. "Lose that mask!" Lelouch raised a hand, touching his mask as if he'd forgotten it was there. Then he snapped his fingers. Kallen flipped the switch. The carriage on the back of the vehicle fell apart just as planned, revealing the steel capsule within. _You think this is poison gas._

" _Counter-proposal, Jeremiah,"_ Lelouch offered as Zero, lowering his arm back to his side. _"This for Kururugi. And if you don't want Orange to be exposed,"_ he flipped the slide of his helmet open from within, _"you'll help us escape, including the prisoner!"_

"Right," Jeremiah said, red tint turning his golden eyes orange. "Hand over the prisoner! That's an order. Immediately!" The two guards stood down, lowering their assault rifles. Lelouch jumped down from the car. Kallen stepped out from the driver's seat. Suzaku walked over. Lelouch met him halfway. Lelouch frowned at the collar around his neck.

" _They didn't allow you to speak,"_ he noted.

"Zero," Jeremiah added, drawing Lelouch's attention. "I will order our units to stand down!"

"What?" asked another Britannian from a nearby Sutherland.

"Lord Quel!" Jeremiah admonished angrily, "This is an order!"

" _Time to go,"_ Lelouch noted quickly. He raised the remote and clicked the top button. The capsule erupted with purple gas. Or to be more accurate, colored smoke. Lelouch smiled as he ran, gesturing for Suzaku and Kallen to follow. The three quickly clambered up the concrete railing.

"I'll cover you!" Kallen commented, turning and drawing a pistol. She was about to fire when Lelouch wrapped his arms and cloak around her and dropped backwards off the railing. Suzaku jumped after them. _Launch the net, Ohgi,_ Lelouch mentally commanded, and prayed. Their fall was broken by the net launched by the loader Lelouch had provided. Then Kallen landed on top of him, knocking the breath from him.

But they weren't dead. They'd landed safely in the net. They crawled out of the net quickly and into the waiting truck. Lelouch was regaining his breath the whole way back to the Shinjuku Ghetto. Suzaku sat across from him in the back of the trailer.

"Thank you for rescuing me," Suzaku said, surprising Lelouch. He looked up to see Suzaku's face. He didn't look happy. He looked uncertain.

" _Not at all,"_ Zero replied, sitting up and crossing his legs. _"I was merely repaying a favor."_

"I see," Suzaku replied, smiling now. "I'm grateful, but I have to go."

" _Go where?"_ Lelouch asked, confused.

"My trial begins in an hour," Suzaku answered, standing. Lelouch's eyes widened behind Zero's mask. He was going back to them?

" _Are you mad?"_ Lelouch raged, standing. _"The only reason they're having a trial is to find you guilty! Is that the kind of law you want to serve?!"_

"And you?" Suzaku countered angrily. "Those were civilians! That gas-"

" _Was a bluff! We achieved our results without a single death!"_ Lelouch was enraged. The idiot was throwing his life away, again!

"The results?" Suzaku frowned, lowering his eyes. "I guess that's all you recognize. Still, orders are orders, and I have to go."

" _But you'll die!"_ Lelouch countered.

"I don't mind," Suzaku declared, smiling. Kallen listened carefully from the cab of the truck.

" _Idiot,"_ Lelouch hissed.

"Stop the truck, please," Suzaku asked. Kallen slowed and stopped the vehicle. Suzaku raised the door at the back and jumped out. Lelouch walked over to stand at the end of the truck.

" _Suzaku,"_ Lelouch said, desperately. _"I want your help to create something."_ Suzaku turned around at this, frowning.

"I'm sorry," he said, saddened. "But anything gained by contemptible means aren't worth anything. I'm grateful for your help, Zero, but I can't help you."

" _Suzaku!"_ Suzaku turned and began to walk away. Lelouch gritted his teeth, his rage growing equal to his desperation for his friend. Kallen stood from the seat and watched Lelouch's back.

" _Suzaku!"_ he repeated. Suzaku kept going. He was almost gone, the darkness was beginning to swallow his white prisoner's outfit. Lelouch ripped his helmet from his head, then tore down the under-mask to free his face.

"Suzaku!" Suzaku still didn't turn. Then he was swallowed by darkness. And gone. Lelouch backed up, quivering in rage. He turned and threw down his helmet, then slammed the butt of his fist against the inner wall of the truck. Kallen stepped past him to lower the door at the end of the truck. "Still caring about everyone except himself!"

Kallen turned from closing the door of the trailer. She walked over and placed a hand on Lelouch's cloaked shoulder, comforting. Lelouch shrugged, his hand still on the wall. It slowly unclenched and pressed against the wall, then was slid down.

"I'm sorry, Kallen," he said, not turning to face her. She frowned. "I thank you for you help tonight. But I was wrong. I can't defeat Britannia."

a/n this is not the end! Be sure to keep following, and please, remember to review!


	4. Chapter 4

**The Demon and the Red Moon**

Last chapter was a pain in my tight ass. Or maybe Kallen's tight ass, whichever you prefer. Keep on reading, and most importantly...reviewing. (BTW, cuz you'll leave notes in your reviews about this, I'm not using C.C. Or C2 (ooh, maybe C2 actually,) because it's irritating to do an abbreviation like that...EVERY...F&%$#NG...TIME...)

Love the reviews so far...and scarease...damn man, writing a book? Lol. You do realize exactly how naïve and hypocritical every freakin' character in Code Geass is, right? (Yes, every character.)

Bit of humor, used Lelouch's chess strategy of leading with the King. More trouble than it's worth. BUT fun...(FYI, still won, but it was against a computer. Chess Titans is mentally challenged, in computer terms.)

Disclaimer: Lelouch: Here lies Rivalz's Heart, who was Milly's beloved goldfish. And proof that Milly couldn't raise a book.

Milly (sobbing): he was so young!

Rivalz: What's with that name?

Lelouch: this is a non-profit fanfiction. Please support the official release of Code Geass.

 **Turn 04-Princess Euphemia**

Lelouch walked into the residence he shared with Nunnally. He stopped as he remembered his words to Kallen. He couldn't fight Britannia. Without Suzaku he had no warriors, and therefore no army. Just a terrorist group. And a small one at that. Not what he needed to defeat Britannia. He opened the door and stepped inside.

"Welcome home, Lelouch," came an unfamiliar voice. Lelouch's head whipped up to see green hair and yellow eyes. Focusing on an origami crane while Nunnally taught them how to fold it. "I'm guessing you ate out tonight, judging by your attire." Lelouch could only stare in shock.

"Welcome home, Lelouch," Nunnally repeated emphatically. "Miss C has been keeping me company!" The raven-haired prince blinked at the letter. C. "Your friend goes by such an unusual name, only her initial! Is she your girlfriend?"

"He made a promise about our future together," C answered before Lelouch could speak.

"Future together?" Nunnally asked, her brow furrowing in concern. "You mean marriage?"

"She's joking," Lelouch corrected, forcefully, brokering no argument.

"No I'm not," C corrected in turn, quickly. Her tone remained as flat as Lelouch's.

"You're certainly doing this sooner than most," Nunnally thought aloud.

"I already have a girlfriend, Nunnally. Kallen from the student council," Lelouch explained flatly, plainly not amused at C's opinions. The green-haired enigma just kept folding her origami crane, oblivious to his irritation.

"Does that mean you're two-timing?" Nunnally asked, concerned. Lelouch's eyes widened in shock and embarrassment. He noticed the cup of tea on the table near his hand. _Okay,_ he thought to himself, _we're done with this conversation._ He picked the glass of tea up and dropped it on the ground.

"Oh, C," Lelouch admonished, lying. "You're soaking wet! You better come here and get you into a warm bath." He grabbed the enigma's arm and yanked her up, dragging her from the room. "I'll clean that up in a minute. And she was joking! Only kidding!"

"I wasn't done with that tea, Lelouch," she chided as soon as they were out of Nunnally's ear shot. Then she tugged her arm free. Lelouch turned on her, ready to grab her again, until he realized she was standing still. He sighed, exasperated.

"You're awfully annoying for someone who is-" Lelouch began, frowning in irritation.

"Supposed to be dead," C finished, turning away. Lelouch instantly decided the most annoying thing was she talked as though he were a child. "I must say you certainly have grown. The last time I saw you you were just a small boy." Lelouch's eyes narrowed. When the hell had she seen him?

"What?" Lelouch hissed, his eyes narrowing. "Where did you see me?"

"Well," she began, spinning to face him. She eyed the sky, putting a thoughtful finger to her chin. "I think it was...five years ago? The Imperial Pendragon Palace?" Lelouch's eyes narrowed even further. Did she know who he was?

"I've never been to the Imperial Pendragon Palace," he lied, carefully. He thought about reaching for the cell phone to call Kallen for back up. But she might not answer, and...this girl was supposed to be dead anyway.

"You're a bad liar, Lelouch vi Britannia," C commented, dropping her hand and staring directly into his eyes. Purple eyes which widened at her comment. _She knows my name!_ "I was there for your birth to the lady Marianne. I bore you into this world." Lelouch gritted his teeth. Lying would present little benefit now. But perhaps he could retrieve information from her. He let his power light up his eye.

"Tell me what you know about my mother's death!" he ordered, leaning in as he did. Her face remained flat, and he couldn't see the red tint in her eyes.

"Your Geass won't work on me, Lelouch," she declared flatly. "And I don't know anything about her murder. I was already gone by that point, five years ago." Lelouch blinked.

"It was eight years ago," he corrected. C blinked in surprise.

"Eight? Wow, I've been losing track worse than I thought," she commented to herself. She made a thoughtful noise and walked past Lelouch. Lelouch was lost in thought was she moved past him. He blinked as he realized she was gone.

"Where are you going?" he asked over his shoulder.

"Your room," she said, as if it was obvious. He jogged after her. As soon as she entered she began to strip off her white outfit. Lelouch gasped and tried to speak, failing, as she climbed, nude, into his bed. "A gentleman would sleep on the floor."

"Where am I going to sleep?" Lelouch asked, raising an irritated eyebrow.

"That sounds like your problem, Lelouch," C muttered, rolling onto her side under the sheets. "Good night, Lelouch."

0.0.0

Kallen blinked at the scene before the front door of the Stradtfeld Mansion. Lelouch stood in the doorway next to her mother, looking embarrassed. She raised an eyebrow and set her hand on her hip, clothed in pink silk pajamas.

"I need a place to sleep," Lelouch admitted sheepishly, his eyes lidded. Kallen blinked again at the request.

"What about your apartment at the Academy?" Kallen asked, confused.

"It's a complicated story," Lelouch admitted, eying the ceiling with tired eyes. Kallen sighed.

"Alright," she said, "come on."

She flicked on a light, showing Lelouch the guest bedroom. Lelouch looked around the room with tired eyes. Defeated eyes. It irked Kallen. He looked at Kallen with gratitude, smiling.

"Thank you, Kallen," he told her. She smiled for him. He glanced down. "I like your pajamas."

"You like a lot of my clothes," she noted, crossing her arms. Lelouch shrugged, smiling.

"I think you're beautiful," Lelouch confessed.

"For the record," she started angrily, turning away, "I'm locking my bedroom door."

"What?" He teased, smiling as she left, "I don't get a kiss goodnight?" Kallen stopped in the doorway, stiffening. She looked over her shoulder, and Lelouch copied the move, meeting her gaze. He smiled, and she just kept an annoyed frown. She looked away and stepped into the hallway. "As usual, your sense of humor is a treat, Kallen." She slammed the door closed.

0.0.0

"Suzaku Kururugi, you are hereby released due to lack of evidence against you," the judge had declared. Suzaku blinked in surprise. That had been last night. He'd spent the rest of the night cleaning his small room in the barracks mostly. He'd found the orders on his bed. He'd been permanently assigned to Camelot and the Special Corps. By requisition of Lloyd Asplund.

He'd packed everything he owned into a single bag. A very small bag. A honorary Britannian soldier with next to no possessions. This is what he'd come to. He smiled a sad smile to himself. He left the barracks, perhaps for the last time. That offered a certain hope itself.

"Excuse me, please," shouted a girl's voice from above. Suzaku looked up to see a body falling toward him. "Get out of the way!" Suzaku reacted quickly, dropping his bag and putting his arms beneath the form. The body was incredibly light, Suzaku took its weight easily. He blinked at the long pink hair. "Oh, I'm sorry, I looked before I jumped."

Suzaku was taken aback when the pink head looked up and Suzaku saw her face. Her face was gentle and beautiful. Blue eyes the color of the sky, buy shining like sapphire. _What kind of goddess landed in my arms?_ He blushed at his thoughts.

"It's alright," he said, dumbstruck. She smiled at him and tried to stand up. Suzaku set her upright, trying not to touch her indecently. "But you shouldn't go jumping out of windows."

"Well the truth is," she began, with a musical voice, "bad men are chasing me! So could I ask you for your help, please?"

0.0.0

"Good morning, sir," came a woman's voice, awakening Lelouch. He glanced up, eyes narrowed from sleep. An older woman wearing a maid's uniform stood at the foot of his bed. Her expression didn't seem all that pleased.

"Morning," he greeted, uncertain. He sat up, blinking the sleep from his eyes. He examined her face quickly. She was clearly Japanese. She'd been gorgeous once, but those halcyon days had departed. "May I help you?"

"I wanted to ask you about your intentions regarding mistress Kallen," she declared. He gave her a sideways look, lip curling.

"You're awfully challenging for a maid," he noted. "You must be related to Kallen. You're concern is touching, but you don't seem the type to care for your employers." The maid's brow furrowed, the corners of her lips turning downwards.

"What are you intentions for Kallen?!" she asked, angrily now. Lelouch gritted his teeth.

"Irrelevant now," he answered, half-closing his eyes. "I thought I would be able to do something, but it requires something I don't have."

"I hear we have a visitor," came a man's voice from the door. The maid stepped over to the door and opened it, curtsying out of the way. In stepped a tall man with the same fiery hair and blue eyes as Kallen. He gave the prince a friendly smile. "A pleasure to meet you, young man." Lelouch stepped out of the bed and took a knee, holding one hand behind him while he held one in front of his chest.

"A pleasure to meet you, sir," he said, bowing. The gentleman blinked in surprise.

"The formal bow of the Britannian Royal Court," the man noted, surprised. "Who taught you that?" Lelouch smiled and looked up at the older man.

"My father was a strict man. He insisted I learn the proper etiquette of a Britannian," Lelouch answered, standing. "I apologize for inconveniencing you."

"It's no inconvenience," he declared.

"Lelouch?!" came Kallen's call. She walked into eyesight of the gentleman and froze. "Dad, you're back." Kallen quickly ran over and hugged her father. She noticed Lelouch's amused look, to her eternal irritation of him.

 _So,_ he thought with a smirk, _She's a softie, too._

0.0.0

"You know," Suzaku pointed out as the pair walked along the sidewalk, "we didn't introduce ourselves." The pink haired girl hesitated for a second.

"You're right," she admitted. "My name is...Euphy!" Suzaku glanced in her direction in surprise.

"Euphy?" Suzaku confirmed, curious. "I'm-"

"Don't tell me," she warned. "I already know. You're a celebrity, Private Suzaku Kururugi!" Suzaku winced at the idea of fame. He didn't want fame, it was being thrust on him because of that Zero person. Suzaku looked down, hidden behind his sunglasses.

"I didn't know I was considered a celebrity," he commented, his voice low. Euphy frowned in the corner of his eye, glancing at him.

"Do you dislike being noticed?" she asked, probing. Suzaku frowned and looked at Euphy. He paused, glancing over his shoulder. He stopped walking, Euphy following suit.

"There's no one following you at all," the brown-haired young man commented. Euphy frowned, realizing she'd been caught in her deception.

"Yes," Euphy admitted, embarrassed. "I'll be moving to Area Eleven soon, and I wanted to see what kind of place it was." Suzaku blinked in shock. _She wanted to see the kind of place Japan was?_ He smiled and faced her.

"Very well, milady," he declared, bowing, "It'll be my pleasure to escort you!"

"Oh, please don't call me milady," she said, smiling with a blush.

0.0.0

Lelouch opened the door, a sour expression on his face. Kallen blinked at the green-haired enigma, shocked. C stood and turned from his bed. Lelouch walked into the room to his closet, giving C a toxic look.

"But wasn't she dead?" Kallen asked, looking at Lelouch. "I saw the body!"

"I've had a tough time dying for a while now," C commented. She turned to Lelouch, watching his back as he changed into his student uniform. "Who's she?"

"She's a friend," Lelouch commented, not turning to talk to her. He moved aside a few hangers. "Where's my shirt?"

"I might've worn it while I was drying after the shower," C commented. Lelouch growled, lowering his head against a hangar.

"Excuse me," Kallen began. C looked back at Kallen. "Who exactly are you?"

"I gave Lelouch his Geass power," C replied matter-of-factly. Before Kallen could ask, she continued. "His mysterious ability to control people."

"Want me to get rid of her?" Kallen asked Lelouch, her voice low. C looked at Lelouch.

"You'd hurt me, an innocent young girl?" C asked, teasing in a monotone.

"You're not innocent, not a girl, and very much doubt you're innocent either," Lelouch commented by reply, donning his jacket over a new shirt. "And to answer your question Kallen, yes, I'd love to. But I doubt very much if a knife will do any more damage than a gunshot wound to the brain."

0.0.0

Suzaku was exhausted. This Euphy had dragged him everywhere. Still, being in the presence of a girl like Euphy provided its own emotional benefits. He ran a checklist of the places they'd traveled. The few places around the Tokyo settlement that they hadn't visited were few. Oh, he'd forgotten Shinjuku. He winced at the thought.

"Well," he began, casually, "anywhere else you'd like to go?"

"Meow," Euphy cooed, from behind Suzaku. Suzaku spun, perturbed. He saw Euphy kneeling next to a small black cat. He blinked, then smiled in understanding. "Meow meow meow!" The cat hissed in response, soliciting a gasp from Euphy. "Meow meow!"

"Careful," Suzaku warned. "He might be wild. He might have rabies." The cat meowed and Euphy smiled and picked it up under the arm pits. She stood and held it up to Suzaku for inspection, smiling. Suzaku smiled and moved to scratch the cat's chin. The cat hissed and bit down on his finger.

"Oh my," Euphy exclaimed softly, alarmed. "Do you feel rabid all of a sudden?"

"I'm fine," Suzaku hissed, wincing at the cat's latching onto his finger.

"Do you dislike cats?" Euphy asked, tugging on the black cat off of Suzaku's finger. The cat finally let go of his finger, and Suzaku breathed a sigh of relief.

"I like them fine," he confessed, shaking his hand. "But the attraction isn't mutual."

"I think unrequited love is the mark of a kind man." The cat twisted in Euphy's hands and slipped from her grasp. It quickly bolted away, leaving Suzaku with Euphy. "The kitty ran away," she lamented, frowning. "Oh, I'm sorry. Were you asking me something, Private Kururugi?"

"I wanted to ask you if there was any other place you wished to go?" Suzaku asked, smiling. Euphy frowned, thoughtfully. Suzaku wondered why her expression seemed sad. She looked back to Suzaku, smiling.

"Yes, there is one more place I'd like to go," she announced. Suzaku smiled and then bowed formally, taking a knee.

"Very well, my lady," he declared, mock-serious. "Your wish is my command!"

"Take me to Shinjuku," Euphy replied quickly. Suzaku winced, looking up in shock. "Suzaku Kururugi, will you take me there?" Suzaku frowned. Asking as though he could refuse.

0.0.0

"Lelouch," C declared as soon as Lelouch was home. "I'm hungry. Order some pizza, please."

"That's not a request," Lelouch noted, rudely. He sat down on the bed and unbuttoned the top of his jacket. "On the other hand, I'm starved myself." He was distracted by his phone buzzing in his pocket. He drew the device out and saw that it was Kallen. He accepted the call.

'Lelouch?' Kallen asked over the phone. 'You've been invited over for dinner.'

"You're joking," Lelouch replied, dumbstruck.

'I...' Kallen began, then hesitated. 'My dad was the one who invited you.' Lelouch blinked.

"Very well," Lelouch said. "I'll be there." He closed the phone. C was standing in front of him, frowning. He sighed and reached into his wallet and handed her his debit card.

"Thank you," she said flatly. Lelouch frowned. He felt like he'd just made a horrible, Biblical level mistake.

0.0.0

Suzaku stopped as Euphy stopped walking. She was in shock at the state of the desiccated city. Suzaku frowned as she examined the city. Rubble everywhere, rusted steel beams jutting out. He knelt down when he saw a child's stuffed animal. He picked it up and turned it over. It had been ripped and burnt, the fur was singed.

"So sad," Euphy said, heartbroken.

"People were starting to come back to live here," Suzaku mentioned sadly. "But now, I don't know if they'll ever come back. Ever since Zero..." Suzaku let his sentence die off. The masked figure had saved his life. But he wasn't sure if Zero fought for justice or just power. And Suzaku wasn't yet sure what he would do if he met Zero again.

Euphy walked over to a few dozen posts planted nearby. There was the remains of a nearby wall covered in photos. Suzaku stood straight and followed her over. He blinked when he saw the toys, the flowers, and photos. This wasn't random. This was a burial site. Even as improvised as it was. Euphy's face reflected the sadness he felt.

"They didn't use RG on the elevens, I figured they wouldn't," came a young Britannian voice. Suzaku looked over to see a pair of students taking photos of the damage. He frowned. Making a sport of the remains of the Japanese's suffering. Euphy passed the corner of Suzaku's eyes as she walked over to the students.

"Hey!" came an angry voice. Suzaku looked over to the source of the voice, surprised. Three men were walking over. "Get out of here!" Suzaku winced as he realized that the trio were Japanese. This was not the time to be sight-seeing. Euphy stopped a short distance, observing.

"How dare an eleven talk to a Britannian like that!" the student shouted in reply. The leader of the trio slapped the camera from the student's hands.

"We're not elevens, we're Japanese!" the tallest replied angrily.

"Wrong!" the student corrected nervously. "You seem to forget that your people surrendered! You're nothing but a beaten dog!" Suzaku gritted his teeth. That sentence was entirely rude. And completely the wrong thing to say to someone who is intent on violence and outnumbers you. Suzaku set down his bag, carefully, prepared to intervene.

"What did you say?" the leader of the trio replied, hissing angrily. "You racist pig!" He drew back a fist. Suzaku burst into motion.

"Stay here!" he shouted as he passed Euphy. The leader spun as Suzaku approached. The bully, and that's what he was, swung the fist at Suzaku's head. Suzaku reversed his running lean, backing up. The knuckles hit him the temple, a glancing blow. His sunglasses were knocked from his face. Suzaku stepped back into a fighting stance.

"Please, do not resort to violence," Suzaku pleaded warningly. He raised his hands, open-palmed. The trio recognized him without his glasses.

"You're Suzaku Kururugi!" Tamaki said in realization. Lelouch watched from farther away. He'd been drawn here on his way to Kallen's house. He narrowed his eyes at Suzaku. Suzaku was outnumbered, but not enough to stop him. His eyes widened as he saw the girl standing behind Suzaku.

"What's she doing here?" Lelouch asked aloud.

"The guy that killed clovis?" the students behind Tamaki commented, uncertain.

"No, You idiot, Zero killed Prince Clovis!" Tamaki's shoulders rose in irritation at Zero's mention. Lelouch narrowed his eyes, frowning. It was true. Clovis's blood was on Lelouch's hands.

"Who cares?" Tamaki ranted, angrily. "You sold your country, your people, even your soul! Are we supposed to be cowed because you're an honorary citizen? YOU'RE NOTHING BUT A SLAVE!" At this Tamaki decided to launch his attack on Suzaku. Lelouch watched carefully, calmly. He knew the outcome already.

Suzaku grabbed the fist Tamaki threw, and lowered himself underneath the arm, quickly. He twisted at his waist and lowered his shoulder. Tamaki was pulled from his feet over Suzaku's shoulders, landing on his back nearly three feet away. Suzaku heard his friends running. He spun, ready to defend himself. The two picked up the loud leader and carried him off, muttering encouraging urgings of retreat. Lelouch nodded.

"What the hell?" the students complained as soon as the trio was gone. "Why did you let them get away? You should've killed them for trying to strike a Britannian! Some Honorary Citizen you are!" Suzaku frowned at them. Euphy walked right past him and slapped the student across the face.

"Oaf!" she yelled at the fallen student, angry. "You insult a man for refusing to murder someone? Hasn't there been enough violence in this place? Hasn't there been enough death here?"

"Lelouch?" came Kallen's voice. He looked over his shoulder at her, his look questioning. "You were late. I figured you must have gone on a detour. It's not that hard to figure out where you'd go." Lelouch looked over at Suzaku. "Lelouch, what you said about Clovis's murder..."

"It was my hand," Lelouch commented. "If I hadn't led you he wouldn't have been killed. It's my responsibility. A king should be responsible for the atrocities of his soldiers."

"I'm strong enough to take the guilt for my own actions," Kallen argued, insulted.

"Is it good to be strong?" Lelouch asked, not looking at Kallen.

"Is it bad to be weak?" Suzaku asked Euphy, turning to look at her. He blinked as she offered him his bag back.

"Seven years ago," Lelouch and Suzaku chorused separately. "The world was so sad. A world without hope."

"Starvation," Lelouch continued.

"Disease." Suzaku added.

"Constant war and terrorism."

"It has to change!" Suzaku argued, clenching a fist in anger.

"How would you change it?" Euphy asked, eyes wide.

"I don't know how I would change it," Suzaku admitted, sadly. "But we have to change it, this world of constant violence." Lelouch frowned. He knew how it would change.

"When someone wins," he noted, "This fighting will end." Lelouch jumped at an explosion. He looked over to see a black cloud rising from a nearby stadium. Lelouch looked down at the pink-haired girl near Suzaku. If that explosion was caused by terrorists, maybe he could use this chance. But he didn't have his mask. He gritted his teeth. "Well," he said, turning to smile at Kallen. "Best to leave now. Wouldn't want to keep your father waiting." He walked past Kallen. She frowned, but followed.

"Suzaku!" came Cecile's voice. Suzaku blinked and ran over to the Lancelot's trailer. "Sorry, Suzaku. We saw that you had a date, so we followed at a distance. But this area's dangerous. Get in!"

"What is it?" Suzaku asked, concerned.

"The pure-bloods seem to be having a tussle over that Orange fellow." Suzaku gritted his teeth. "Oh, and too bad about your acquittal because now you'll have to be our devicer again." More senseless violence?

"Wait," Suzaku shouted, forcefully. "Isn't this a chance to acquire more battle data for the Lancelot?" Lloyd looked over at Suzaku, eyes narrowing with temptation.

"Suzaku?" Euphy asked, concerned. Suzaku turned to face her.

"I'm sorry," Suzaku said, smiling at the girl. "But if I can stop this fighting, I have to try."

0.0.0

"What is this?!" Jeremiah asked angrily. "Where's zero?" he righted his Sutherland, trying to find the enemy. He blinked as he saw four Sutherland's emerge, bearing assault rifles and anti-armor lances. But their shoulders were painted red, the markings of the Pure-bloods!

'Sorry, _Orange,_ ' came Quel's voice over the radio. Jeremiah's eyes widened in shock as the four quickly moved to attack. Jeremiah raised his assault rifle, firing. The four dodged through his fire. In the first attack they knocked the assault rifle from his Knightmare's hands.

"It's four against one," Jeremiah noted angrily. "So, that sighting of Zero was a lie."

'Yes, Orange-boy,' Quel admitted confidently. 'This is how we keep our officials honest. We must remove this taint before Princesses Cornelia and Euphemia arrive!'

"You mean to kill me?!" Jeremiah raged, backing up his Sutherland. He was forced to dodge as one of the Knightmares tried to skewer him from the side. As soon as he was clear he checked his surroundings and cursed. He was now surrounded in the center of the stadium.

'Don't worry,' Quel commented over the radio. 'We'll tell your family you died in battle.' The four leveled their lances to the chest level for his Sutherland. A four way attack.

"You're betraying me and calling it a mercy?!" Jeremiah pointed out, defiant to the end.

'Silence! Our loyalty is to the Imperial Family!' Quel corrected. 'All hail Britannia!' At the battlecry the four began to move towards him. Jeremiah braced himself to try to evade. As he moved, another Sutherland dropped in.

'Lord Jeremiah!' Villeta cried. Jeremiah blinked, then grinned. He still had Villeta's support, at least. But two on one were still awful odds. He moved, but three lances were coming right at him. Three slash harkens hit each lance, knocking them off-target. Jeremiah was able to quickly move his Sutherland from the four surrounding him, putting his back to the wall beside Villeta. He followed the lines of the slash harkens.

'Please,' came Suzaku Kururugi's voice over the radio. 'Cease this senseless battle!' The white Knightmare, Lancelot, retracted the three slash harkens back into its body. In the cockpit, Suzaku was silently praying that the four would surrender.

'What do the special corps want here? Interlopers will die!' Suzaku frowned, steeling himself for battle. He thumped the selector on both of the control reins.

"No," Suzaku declared as the Lancelot drew the new twin swords on its back. Drawing them from beneath its arms, the blades hummed and whined as the metal began to glow red from the internal heating mechanisms.

"Maser Vibration Swords," Lloyd declared, watching from the stairs. "Vibration technology coupled with a heating mechanism to produce a super-hot high-frequency cutting edge. Standard Knightmare armor doesn't stand a chance. Like a hot chainsaw through butter!"

Suzaku launched himself at the four Sutherlands. They launched their slash harkens. Suzaku concentrated on the rocket anchors shooting at him. With Lancelot's sensors he could see them perfectly. He began to slash them aside as he landed. One of the enemy Knightmares tried to rush forward with its lance. Suzaku quickly met the weapon with his sword. The heated sword cut right into the lance, splitting it in half.

'Men,' Quel calmly ordered, 'fall back.' Suzaku blinked in surprise, backing up to stand in front of Jeremiah and Villeta's Knightmares.

"Do you finally understand? We're Britannian soldiers! We're on the same side!"

'No,' Quel argued, still calm. 'I'm just using a chaos mine.' Suzaku winced. The device was designed as a hand-grenade, but launched a stream of shrapnel that could strip a Sutherland to ribbons.

"Please," came Euphy's voice, pleading. "Lay down your weapons!" She was right behind him. If that Chaos Mine hit her, she'd be killed, if not ripped to ribbons on the spot. _No,_ he thought to himself, _she won't be killed!_ He raised both arms, activating his shields. The Chaos Mine extended, revealing a dozen shrapnel launchers.

The Chaos mine spit out a million hot shards of metal at him. Every single piece was deflected. The metal filled enough of the air between that he could see the edges of the electromagnetic shielding. Suzaku gritted his teeth to try to hold the reins forward. The shrapnel was pushing him back. If he fell back too far, the shields might not cover the two Knightmares behind him, and Euphy.

"Lancelot," he pleaded, straining, "Just hold on a little longer!" The energy filler was starting to drain. If he ran out of energy, he'd be shredded in a few seconds. The mine finally stopped spitting metal and dropped to the ground, spent.

'Princess Euphemia!' came Quel's voice over the speakers. Suzaku was rocked back in the Lancelot's cockpit, stunned. Euphy-mia... _Idiot,_ he chided himself. She stepped past the Lancelot, confidently.

"Everyone lower your weapons!" she ordered confidently. The sutherlands quickly dropped to one knee. Suzaku exited the cockpit and he ran over to Euphemia.

"My lady," he said, before bowing behind her. "Forgive me, I had no idea who you were." She glanced over her shoulder at him. She frowned and spun.

"No," she corrected. "It's fine, I promise. I wished to remain anonymous."

"Suzaku Kururugi," came Jeremiah's voice. Suzaku glanced over his shoulder. Jeremiah was frowning, his eyes narrowed. "I thank you for saving my life." Suzaku remembered the interrogation. "Princess Euphemia," he said, looking at Euphy. "Lord Jeremiah Gottwald, at your eternal service." He bowed himself.

"Thank you," she said. "Suzaku, I want your help." Suzaku looked up at Euphemia. "I want your help to try to stop all the senseless battling, to create a better world."

a/n-somehow fluff and lemon were easier to write. To answer some reviews-

The shift is coming, but there won't be one giant shift, more like bends, from the canon anime series. Slight changes that will change the course of the river. R2 will be very different, for sure. So you know, next year will be exciting. Next chapter for sure is going to be very different from the anime series, mostly because Lelouch will be brought back on track.

To the Random review- Yes, titles can break it up, but I don't always use them, because it can cause some confusion and or problems. For example if Schneizel and Lelouch were speaking it would be a little confusing to refer to one as a prince, or I just prefer their names. I try, occasionally, but I prefer to use them in just one-on-one conversations, because it's a lot easier and breaks it up from just being (for example) Lelouch-Kallen-Lelouch-Kallen-Lelouch-Kallen. Then I use them. With like five-plus characters in some scenes, it's trickier for me. My psychological quirks are very present in my writing style.

Just a technical thing here. I was just watching Nina explaining a nuclear bomb to Lloyd. And the Fleija is completely different from a nuclear bomb. A Nuclear bomb is literally a bomb. It creates a massive shock-wave, and releases thermal radiation. A Fleija apparently creates a massive orb of energy that traps all matter within it and then collapses, destroying everything contained within. So...big difference actually. So I guess all the goodwill that Code Geass's science built up, Nina just f-ed it all over that table. You know...THAT table. Discuss.

Read and Review...for the United States of Japan!


	5. Chapter 5

**Demon and the Red Moon**

 _Ah, the holidays. A wonderful time for chillaxing. Now I get to go back to beating stupid fanfictions out of my brain for your enjoyment. I'M NOT COMPLAINING!_

 _Okay, I'm complaining the lancelot's debut was a lot more fun to write._

 _And this took for-freaking-ever._

 _Rolo's Geass would be awesome if it worked for days._

 _And didn't have the heart-stopping thing._

 _Hate to broach this subject, and I know a few of us have thought of this, but. Anybody think Rolo used his Geass to get some peeks on the Asheford students of the female persuasion? The only reason I can think of that suggests he didn't is because heart-stopping geass+heart-quickening bewbs=dead little fake-brother._

 _..._

 _Why am I a monster?_

 **Disclaimer:** Lelouch: The following is a-

Milly: (shouting) Non-profit fan-written story!

Lelouch: Code Geass is owned by-

Milly: Wait, am I even in this chapter?

Lelouch: Please support the official release.

 **Turn 05: Cornelia's Attack**

Euphemia stood in the airstrip of the government bureau. She winced as the aircraft approached, her laced hands tightening on their own. Suzaku watched from far behind the princess. Lloyd and Cecile stood beside him. Hundreds of people were awaiting Princess Cornelia. Suzaku privately wished he could assure Euphy. But he was merely a soldier, and she was a high-born lady.

Euphemia eyed to her side, in the direction where Suzaku stood behind her. She wished he was closer, so she could absorb some of his strength and bravery.

"I heard Princess Cornelia was busy establishing Area Eighteen," Lloyd commented, stroking his chin beside Suzaku. The eleven looked over at Lloyd, his mouth opening to ask a question. Before he could ask, the plane came to a stop before Euphemia, and Suzaku renewed his stance of attention.

The woman who stepped from the plane's opening door was striking. Suzaku could recognize the similarities between Euphemia and her older sister. But Cornelia's was a harsh, austere beauty, with none of Euphemia's softness. Her hair was violet instead of pink, and her eyes were a darker blue. Her skin was paler, and she was thinner, both in her face and in her form.

As she stepped down, a raven-haired man in the same crimson uniform followed after her. Instead of the white cape, he wore a blue sash about his waist. His long hair was tied back with a piece of leather thong, and he wore glasses over his blue eyes. Cornelia's knight, Suzaku guessed.

"Ah-huh," Lloyd hummed, thoughtfully. "She brought along Guilford. She's not just visiting Area Eleven for tea and cakes." Euphemia winced as she heard Lloyd's words.

"Hello, sister," Euphemia greeted, smiling as Cornelia approached. Cornelia smiled in return, but with a tired expression.

"You shall address me as Viceroy," Cornelia declared. "We're sisters, so we must observe a stricter code of conduct here, Sub-viceroy Euphemia." Euphemia winced, as ever intimidated by her older sister. But Cornelia was still her older sister. Euphemia smiled.

"Of course," Euphemia replied, dutifully. Cornelia's eyes focused onto Suzaku. She dropped the friendly expression and walked past Euphemia. Suzaku stood straighter, if that was possible. Lloyd made a thoughtful noise, his hands on his hips.

"This would be the pilot of the special weapon?" Cornelia asked, coldly, stopping before Suzaku.

"Yes, your highness," Lloyd replied, cheerfully. Cornelia's eyes narrowed, discomforting Suzaku. He was only an honorary Britannian and had driven the Lancelot. Even an honorary citizen could not become a knight.

"I'm promoting you to Warrant Officer, Suzaku Kururugi," Cornelia replied matter of factly. "Don't make me regret it." Suzaku blinked in surprise.

"Yes, your majesty," he responded finally, stunned. Cornelia was already on the move.

"Your highness," called a Britannian voice. The purple-haired woman paused as an adjutant ran over and stood beside her. "We have prepared for your official installment ceremony, and the press release-" he was cut off as Cornelia drew her sword and pointed it at the man's head. Suzaku noticed that a single-shot flintlock pistol had been fitted into the top of the weapon.

"Zero comes before all else. Where is he?"

0.0.0

"Did you hear, Lelouch?" Shirley's question made Lelouch turn from his lunch. He gave her a questioning look, a piece of rice halfway in his mouth. "They say the new viceroy has finally arrived, Second Princess Cornelia." Lelouch blinked and lowered his hand holding his chopsticks.

Cornelia. He remembered the angry tomboy, determined to protect sweet little Euphemia. He should have guessed it would be someone like Cornelia. He was a little unsurprised. He should have known, since Euphemia was already here.

"Looks like I quit just in time," Lelouch commented to himself. Kallen emitted a choked sound from nearby as Lelouch spoke. Shirley blinked and angled her head, confused.

"Quit what, Lulu?" Shirley asked, confused. Lelouch blinked in shock, realizing that he'd said it aloud. He came up with a few dozen lies in that nanosecond.

"My gambling," Lelouch lied, smiling assuredly. "I've heard that Princess Cornelia can be pretty strict, so I wouldn't want to be caught gambling again."

"What?" Rivalz asked, upset, leaning over from his seat beside Lelouch. "You're quitting gambling?! It was getting so good!" Lelouch looked back over at Rivalz as he raved.

"Guess you'll just have to get a real job Rivalz," Lelouch teased, smiling at his friend. Rivalz began to choke and then scream in despair. Lelouch looked back over to Shirley. "I'd been thinking about quitting for a while. I just did it for a rainy day, the rest was out of sheer boredom." In the corner of his eye Kallen stiffened, sitting straighter next to Milly, eyes narrowing at him. Lelouch frowned.

"Well that's good then," Shirley added cheerfully.

C watched the grouping with the disinterest of a critiquing observer. She frowned and looked up at the sky, seemingly bored. "I want pizza," she said despairingly.

0.0.0

"You're being released," Guilford announced as the glass barrier was raised. Jeremiah breathed a sighed of relief as he stood.

"You believe I'm innocent! Lord Guilford, I'm so relieved!" Jeremiah told the senior knight, joyfully. Guilford's face remained neutral. Jeremiah began to walk over when Guilford held Jeremiah back with his hand. Jeremiah blinked, wounded.

"In the eyes of the courts you're innocent," Guilford corrected. "You've been demoted two ranks for failure, so you'll have two choices. Starting over as a pilot," Jeremiah was on the verge of crying aloud as the raven-haired man spoke. "Or cultivating an orange farm." Jeremiah felt his world shattering.

"But my lord," he pleaded, desperately. Guilford pushed the younger man backwards. Jeremiah fell over.

"Silence," Guilford advised carefully, his eyes narrowing. "Orange-boy." Guilford turned and walked off, leaving Jeremiah to roll like a fish back to his knees. Jeremiah's rage was boiling. Not only was he demoted, almost killed, and tricked by a terrorist, but now he was stuck with that name. Orange.

"I'll kill you, Zero," Jeremiah vowed, his face twisting in sheer rage.

0.0.0

Lelouch and Kallen walked down the hall. Lelouch glanced Kallen in the corner of his eye. She wasn't speaking to him. Lelouch adjusted his jacket, uncomfortably. He'd been avoiding the conversation. Even at the dinner he'd been invited to. Lelouch sighed internally. He frowned and decided to try to comment on it.

"You're being quiet today," he noted, awkwardly. Kallen looked at him, annoyed.

"Is that what you really want to talk about?" Kallen asked, angrily. Lelouch winced then frowned, annoyed.

"You know, you were much cuter in Shinjuku when I didn't know you," he teased angrily. Kallen blushed, but kept up her angry expression.

"You don't know me," she corrected forcefully. "Just because we've kissed doesn't mean you know me, Lelouch." Lelouch stopped walking and faced Kallen. Kallen stopped walking and turned back to the Britannian Prince.

"How many kisses would I need to know you?" Lelouch asked, narrowing one eye as he teased the redhead. Kallen blinked and inhaled in surprise. The idea of kissing him again had struck her with the force of a hammer and the speed of a dagger. Lelouch could sense the effect he'd had on Kallen.

"If you were going to help us resist Britannia I'd tell you," she replied. Lelouch's eyes narrowed in irritation at the rebuke. "But you've decided that anything we might have had stops here." Lelouch took a step back, eyes widening. Kallen stalked off, heading to their class. Lelouch stood in the hall, his hand curling into a fist.

"Very well, Kallen." He said to himself, looking down, disappointed.

0.0.0

'They've announced that they're going to wipe out the Saitama ghetto,' Ohgi reported into the phone. Kallen's eyes narrowed as Ohgi finished. 'We know the date and time, and we retrieved your Glasgow. It's been fitted with the arm of a Sutherland from Shinjuku.'

"So we'll at least have a Knightmare Frame," Kallen concluded.

'Yeah. We've contacted the resistance in Saitama. We're going to help them to hold off the military until we can evacuate. With Zero's help we can stop them.' Kallen winced at Zero's mention. Zero wasn't going to help. But Ohgi didn't need to know that.

"Zero will be there," Kallen lied, smiling. "See you in Saitama." She hung up the phone.

"The Saitama ghetto," Lelouch added from behind Kallen. She turned and faced him. "They announced it on the news. Cornelia's going to wipe it out to deal with a few terrorists." He winced. "Sorry, resistance fighters. I forget sometimes. And you're going to support them in the red Glasgow."

"Yes, not that it concerns you, since you quit on us," Kallen replied, angrily.

"It's not that simple!" Lelouch shouted angrily, his calm facade cracking like glass. Kallen was stunned enough to make her retreat on her heel. She'd never seen Lelouch crack under anger. "I'm a strategist, not a soldier. I can only form plans. Execution is a separate matter. I need someone who can execute my plans as well as I can form them." Kallen frowned, gritting her teeth.

"Fine," she said, walking past him. Lelouch frowned as he listened to her foot steps receding. The footsteps stopped. "But what are our chances without Zero? Maybe you should think of that before you chicken out." Lelouch's eyes went wide at the questions. He turned around to look at Kallen. She was already gone.

Cornelia was the reason the Saitama Ghetto was being targeted. But Lelouch was smart enough to realize it was a trap for Zero. If he went in he'd be facing Cornelia. She was no Clovis.

 _You are dead._

Lelouch blinked in surprise at the memory. His father's words rang in his mind as a great bell. He'd remembered them, just after he'd gotten Geass. That man didn't care about any of his children. That included himself and Nunnally.

 _Dead since the moment you were born. Who do you think gave you the things you possess, your fine clothes, even your very life. All these things I gave to you!_

 _But this power, it's mine._ This time his own voice rang in his mind. _That's right, I was dead. Dead for years. I will not return to being dead. I will defeat that man and take everything from him._

 _I will obliterate Britannia!_

0.0.0

C turned her head as the door opened. She sat up from the bed as Lelouch entered, determination steeling his expression. He knelt by the bed and pulled a case from beneath it. He stood, lifting the case as he did, holding it at his side.

"Where are you going?" C asked, concerned. It wasn't concern for Lelouch's person, though.

"Kallen needs my help with something," Lelouch lied nonchalantly. "Feel free to order a pizza, I may be late." C narrowed her eyes.

"You're falling for the enemy's provocation, aren't you?" Lelouch frowned, annoyed at the emerald-haired witch. He stepped over to look out the window.

"They took such great pains to invite me," Lelouch noted confidently. He turned to leave. Only to be stopped by C aiming a gun at his chest. He froze.

"You can't die." C warned. Lelouch's eyes narrowed. "You can't die until you've fulfilled your contract to me. So you can't die yet." His Geass wouldn't work on her, and he couldn't threaten her with a gun. But she could threaten him. An idea struck him.

"Notice that what you're threatening and saying are contradictory," Lelouch said, smirking at the witch's hypocrisy.

"That depends on what I'm threatening. I could just shoot you in the leg to slow you down." Lelouch ground his teeth inside his head. He hadn't thought about that. He drew his pistol from his case. "You think you can threaten me with a gun? I can't die."

"You can't," Lelouch agreed, frowning. He smiled and pressed the muzzle of his pistol to his temple. Her golden eyes went wide at the prince's gesture. "I can." She gritted her teeth. The most emotion he'd seen her display yet. "Before I met you I was dead. Dead for years. If I'm destined to go back to that life, I'd rather-"

"Stop!" C said forcefully, dropping the pistol to her side. "I understand. It's a life without meaning." Lelouch smiled and lowered the pistol, setting it back inside his jacket. He walked past the emerald enigma without looking at her, nor did she deign to look at him. "Be careful, Lelouch." He set his hand on the doorknob and stopped.

"I will."

0.0.0

Lelouch watched a confrontation from the top of an abandoned building. A group of civilians had been herded by the Britannian soldiers. The leader of the civilians walked towards one of the Britannian soldiers keeping them in place. Lelouch jumped when they gunned the leader down.

"Why are you doing this?!" another man asked angrily.

"There are children here!" a second added.

"We've done nothing!" a third voice pleaded, desperately.

"Exactly," the leader of the soldiers replied coldly. "The people of the ghetto do nothing about the terrorists. Therefore this ghetto is being purged." Lelouch frowned as the assault rifles opened fire.

"Cornelia replaces Clovis, but Britannia doesn't change," he thought aloud. "So I have to change it." He was interrupted by a pair of slash harkens anchoring into the roof of the building next to the one Lelouch was standing on. A Sutherland ascended the wall and came to face Lelouch. He stood and looked at the face of giant machine.

'You there,' the pilot called out, over the radio. 'What's your name and unit?' Lelouch smiled.

0.0.0

Kallen dodged a tank's cannon round. She pressed the control button on the left rein and her Glasgow launched a slash harken into the tank. The vehicle's armor was crushed and ripped by the impact, shortly before the tank exploded as its ammunition cooked off.

'Great job, Kallen,' came Ohgi's voice over the radio. Kallen grinned as she panted to retrieve her breath. They'd helped the Saitama group, but the Knightmares were pushing them back further and further without stopping.

A Sutherland came from behind a building, firing its assault rifle. Before Kallen could react bullets were ripping through her borrowed Sutherland arm. By the time Kallen was moving the purple limb was severed, leaving just a few pieces of twisted metal clinging to the red Glasgow.

The enemy Sutherland moved forward to pursue her when three grenades hit the machine's chest in succession, blowing the machine apart. Kallen spun her Glasgow around to see who fired. She blinked as she realized nothing was there.

0.0.0

"It seems Zero might not make an appearance," Cornelia said thoughtfully. Beside her Guilford frowned, looking at the tactical map on the main screen. She sat back and crossed her legs, disappointed. "It seems he's smarter than I thought. I would have preferred to trap him here and not have to hunt him down one by one."

"We live to serve you, your highness," Guilford said from beside Cornelia. She sighed and closed her eyes, frowning.

"Your highness," Darlton said, alarmed. Cornelia opened her eyes, looking back at the tactical map. A group of units was assembling near the terrorist center of operations. There were nearly twenty Knightmares assembling in parade ground formation.

"What are they just doing standing there?" Cornelia asked, raising an eyebrow. All the units disappeared from the tactical map.

0.0.0

'Kallen,' came Ohgi's voice over the radio, surprising the redheaded pilot. 'A bunch of Knightmares just surrendered to us. What's going on?' Kallen's eyes widened at the words.

'Q-1,' came Lelouch's voice. 'Move thirty meters to the east and fire your slash harkens towards northeast.' Kallen pulled on her reins, strafing her Glasgow. She fired her slash harkens and the building. It collapsed, dropping two Sutherlands. The two Knightmares were crushed by the sudden impact on the ground, exploding.

'Le-' she cut herself off. 'Zero, you came.'

'Of course,' Lelouch's voice replied. 'I told you I would.' Kallen sucked in a breath in surprise. 'We're going to force Cornelia to pull back. Then I can neutralize her like I did with Clovis. I'll need your help in order to win. All units, fall back to point z-01.'

'Alright, Zero,' Ohgi replied over the radio, cheerfully.

0.0.0

Lelouch set the radio down and exhaled. This was still exhausting. But now he knew that he would fight Britannia, and why. Besides, he still had to investigate his mother's murder. Cornelia was much higher in the hierarchy of Britannia, she'd know what happened to his mother.

"All units, confirm deactivation of your iff transponders," Lelouch ordered, holding the radio up to his ear. The game has begun.

'Confirmed,' replied a few dozen voices.

"Kallen, circle to r4, then fall back to s9," Lelouch ordered into the radio. "Ohgi, B-1, choose a partner and proceed to point t8 and take out any one who follows Kallen broadcasting an iff. I'll b observing from r9, so don't shoot me."

0.0.0

"They've destroyed two squads, but the enemy has turned off their transponders," Darlton commented, facing the main tactical map. Cornelia smiled, suddenly pleased.

"Zero had made his appearance. Now to locate him," Cornelia commented, thinking aloud. "He maintains a tight control of his forces, according to Shinjuku. He'd be nearby to the forces he's deploying. Send a squad to point r9, have them turn off their transponders first."

"Your highness, are you sure?" Darlton asked, turning. Cornelia raised an amused eyebrow at the straw-haired general, still smiling. He grinned himself and turned back to the screen.

0.0.0

Lelouch cocked his head at the iff map. Three units disappeared near point j7 on the map.

"All units, requesting a location confirmation," Lelouch requested, eyes narrowing with concern. "Is anyone near point j7?" He winced at the list of location confimations.

'What's wrong, zero?' Ohgi asked, concerned. Lelouch narrowed his eyes and checked his surroundings. His eyes widened as he saw the three units advancing at him. Had she-had Cornelia copied his strategy? He needed to get out here, but how? He could try to fight the three Knightmares, but this Sutherland was different from the Ganymede he'd been taught on.

"I have three enemy units bearing down on my position," Lelouch informed, nervously. "I'm going to try to take them out."

'Zero,' came Kallens' voice. 'Just wait there! I can be there in a few seconds!' Lelouch gritted his teeth. She could help, but that would be risky for her.

"No," Lelouch replied. "I need you. I'll take them out myself." Somehow.

'Hey,' the pilot of the lead Britannian Sutherland called out over the radio. 'You're transponder's been turned off. What's wrong?'

'Destroy it,' came Cornelia's voice. Lelouch's eyes went wide, and he sprang into action. He fired at the lead Knightmare. Surprise was on his side, and he was able to damage the Knightmare enough to cause an auto-eject. The other two began to fire, recovering quickly. Lelouch moved his Knightmare to the left, dropping to street level. He kept moving, firing his assault rifle until he was in cover.

Lelouch pressed his Knightmare's shoulder to the wall, trying to peek around the corner. One enemy Sutherland continued to fire at him. Lelouch could guess the other would try to flank him.

"N-1," he ordered into his radio, "come to my position to back me up."

'Who's n-1?' replied one of the Japanese voices.

'I have no clue,' replied another. 'Wasn't it you?' Lelouch gritted his teeth. This was no time for his command structure to be compromised!

"Somebody come help me dammit!" he shouted into the radio, angry and desperate.

'Hey fuck you!' replied another Japanese voice.

'Guys, come on!' Ohgi replied forcefully. 'Someone go help Zero!'

Lelouch was rocked as an assault rifle fired and blew off his Sutherland's arm. He spun the Sutherland and fired his slash harkens. He completely missed. Lelouch scrambled at the reins to fire his assault rifle. The enemy quickly dodged his inaccurate fire and kept shooting, piercing his Sutherland's leg, cutting it in half. Lelouch gave a shout as he fell along with his Sutherland.

A flash of red crushed the enemy into a building, crushing the cockpit block. Lelouch breathed a sigh of relief upon looking to see Kallen's Glasgow. He heard a beep and looked behind him to see the first Sutherland reappear, and it began to fire. Lelouch spun and fired his assault rifle. This time he was accurate enough to blow the torso apart.

After a bit of working Lelouch got the Sutherland to be leaning against a wall, but still standing on its remaining leg. The Glasgow stopped and the cockpit block opened, and Kallen stood up from the chair. Lelouch opened his own cockpit block and stood.

"Are you alright?" Kallen asked, smiling at him. Her smile actually stunned Lelouch for a second. It had been a lifetime since he'd seen it.

"I'd be lying if I said my pride wasn't hurt," Lelouch admitted, frowning. He paused to admire Kallen's outfit, his mind wandering. His eyes kept focusing on her flat stomach, only broken by her belly-button. He blinked the thought away with a slight shake of his head. "They've ascertained my position, if I stay here I'll be targeted again. And this Sutherland is not taking me anywhere."

'All units,' came Cornelia's voice, 'fall back at once.'

Lelouch blinked and looked down at the radio.

0.0.0

"Princess Cornelia! We can still fight them!" cried one of the Shinjuku survivors. Cornelia's head whipped to give the man a withering look of irritation. Guilford observed calmly.

"I don't intend to surrender so easily," Cornelia informed. "We can not only fight them, but destroy them Now we just don't have to worry about friendly fire." She turned to Guilford. "Are you ready to serve your princess, Guilford?"

"Yes, your highness," Guilford replied, smiling. "It shall be my pleasure."

0.0.0

"Why are we stationed at the rear lines?" Jeremiah asked aloud, despair filling his voice. "how will I ever take my revenge on zero now?"

"They're holding us back because Orange is here," Quel replied from his Sutherland, next to Jeremiah's. At the mention of the nickname Jeremiah looked at Quel with pure rage. "Just be glad you weren't terminated, Orange-Boy." Villeta winced from Jeremiah's other side. Jeremiah hadn't remembered the Orange incident. Just like how she'd wound in up a dead man's coat in Shinjuku. That boy, had he been zero?

0.0.0

"What," Lelouch asked the screen, talking to Cornelia. "You don't like it when the enemy can destroy your people?" Lelouch picked up the resistance radio and held it near his face. He paused when one unit was launched from the command center on the iff screen. Cornelia herself? It wasn't the white unit from earlier. This one wasn't fast enough.

'One unit's coming right at us,' one of the Japanese voices said, boastfully. 'Let's take it out!' the suggestion was met by several roared agreements.

"No, wait," Lelouch ordered. "It may be a trap."

'Whatever, you're being paranoid!' the Japanese voice replied. 'Come on!' Lelouch couldn't see the units on his map. Just the one that was moving towards them.

"Wait," Kallen called into the radio.

'We're not waiting!' the Japanese voice replied. 'Hey, that's not just one unit-GAAAAAH!' Lelouch winced. A transponder can be a double-edged sword. So this was Cornelia. She was nothing like Clovis. He should of thought of this. The screams were heard over the radio.

"Give me a status report," Lelouch ordered into the radio.

'Screw your status report, we're out!' another Japanese voice replied.

'Zero, what do we do?' Ohgi's voice came. 'Me and Tamaki are near your position, should we link up and try to take out the attacking force?'

'Zero's been sighted!' cried a Britannian voice from over the radio. Lelouch jumped in his seat, looking around his view-screens. There wasn't a unit in sight besides Kallen's Glasgow. An imposter? Or... 'He jumped right off!'

"Kallen, Ohgi," Lelouch ordered into the radio. "We're leaving. Any further fighting would only weaken us. Retreat via the Ozumu subway route. Kallen and I will take the Tokyo route." He stood in the cockpit seat and waved to the red Glasgow. "You'll have to give me a ride." Kallen frowned at him, disappointed.

"Can I drive at least?"

0.0.0

"Should we pursue Zero?" Cornelia asked, disappointed. "Or is there a chance it could turn into an ambush?" Darlton frowned as he faced the purple Princess.

"We could pursue, but since he showed himself it's likely he already has an escape route in place. Since we know so little about Zero, an ambush could be a possibility." Darlton turned to look at the map as he finished speaking. "The only thing we do know is that he seems as prideful as you claim."

"We defeated him here," Cornelia noted aloud. "If we use the media correctly we'll severely hamper Zero's ability to resist us. Let him roam free for now. We'll track him down soon enough."

0.0.0

They met the fake Zero in the tunnel. Lelouch and Kallen stepped down from the Knightmare and walked up to the cloaked figure. Lelouch narrowed his eyes and took his helmet off, scratching his hair. Finally, he set his case down and clenched his fists.

"What are you doing here?"

" _I told you already,"_ the synthesized voice replied. The cloaked figure raised its hands and removed Zero's helmet, revealing green hair and pale skin. "I can't have you dying after all."

"You were right to suggest caution. The conditions were unequal, her force was better organized than Clovis. I wouldn't have lost in an equal conflict." Lelouch's voice was oozing anger with every syllable. "They only won because they had better conditions!"

"You sore loser," C replied, flipping her hair with her hand. "If you were really that good, you could set up conditions the way you want them."

"But you came," Kallen said, interrupting. Lelouch turned to face the redhead as she walked up behind him. She was smiling again. "You came to help us." Lelouch smiled a small smile. "Thank you, Lelouch."

"I came. But I lost. I lost to Cornelia," Lelouch admitted, disappointed and angry. "To defeat Britannia I'll need an army." He looked back at C. "I'll be able to set up conditions the way I want. I'll build an army that will never lose to Britannia. A nation. A people."


	6. Chapter 6

**Demon and the Red Moon**

 _Ah, valentine's day is coming. I'm not doing anything, don't ask. Lol._

 _Answering reviews-_

 _he-specOps- you know what, I was just paraphrasing the canon speech Lelouch made, so blame clamp for that one. But according to the calendar system set up, Lelouch was born in 1945. Generally Lelouch is hinted to be a hitler metaphor. Personally I don't understand that decision, but whatevs, if they want to be neo-nazis that's their decision._

 _Ice88-And he's black, witches! (idk)_

 _Chimera629- Nina's fairly harmless seeming, so I doubt Lelouch would care._

 _Titanfire999-It's not rated M, mostly because of fanfiction's base filters don't show rated M. Kinda wrote this to be widely read, so you need to write it rated T. But my last Code Geass fic was rated M so I recommend that._

 _Worker72- well, yes, but Lelouch has a few terrorists and is improvising, vs Cornelia's highly trained and well equipped elite forces and her Royal Guard._

 _Just an au thing, but I made Euphemia just slightly younger here._

 **Btw, in episode 12 of r2, you know how Sayoko suddenly appears behind Milly and then disappears. Could Sayoko be...A GOD?!**

 **Doubtful but let's start a meme anyway lol.**

 **Chapter 6: Reunions**

Cornelia read the service record in front of her with disdain. Most of it was blacked out, and the rest of the record only contained notes of redeployment orders. And they weren't to enemy theaters. Moscow, London, a few other cities. All Britannian settlements. She eyed the blonde-haired, red eyed young woman. She seemed no more than fourteen, her perfectly straight face betraying no indications of race or breeding. Her uniform was a red version of a standard Britannian dress uniform. She had been standing at attention for hours.

"You are not mentioned as belonging to any military group," Cornelia noted loudly, irritated.

"I'm not permitted to reveal my affiliations. I am considered to report directly to the Emperor himself," the girl replied. "I have been ordered to take orders from you so long as they do not conflict with my standing orders."

"Which are?" Cornelia asked instantly, displeased.

"I'm not permitted to reveal those orders," the girl replied businesslike. Cornelia frowned, grinding her teeth in her mouth.

"You are identified only as Alice," Cornelia noted. "May I inquire as to your last name?"

"I don't have one," Alice replied, monotone.

"Why not?" Cornelia asked, exasperated. Alice frowned, thoughtfully.

"I don't know. I only remember a little of my family. Even if I had a last name," she paused, wincing, "I wouldn't remember it."

"Can't you tell us anything, why were you sent here, your military unit, anything?" Guilford asked, standing behind Cornelia's shoulder. Alice eyed Guilford, emotionless, and then straight ahead again.

"The encounters with zero, and testimony of certain individuals has raised concerns with my superiors. I am ordered to investigate and follow orders from Cornelia li Britannia outside of my standard orders." Cornelia raised an amused eyebrow at Alice's speech.

"So, it seems zero has raised all kinds of interest," she noted, interested. "In the few weeks since Saitama we've had no sightings of Zero anywhere. Isn't it possible that he's been scared into hiding, Guilford?"

"Yes your highness, that is a possibility," Guilford replied, leaning over Cornelia's shoulder.

"Regardless," Alice interrupted, "My orders are to investigate this individual."

0.0.0

Lelouch froze, dumbstruck. Not her. How could she be here?! Anger flooded his veins as he saw the intruder in the classroom. His classroom. The pink-haired head began to turn his direction and Lelouch ducked out of the classroom before she saw him.

 _Euphemia,_ he hissed internally. _What are you doing here?!_ He could use his Geass on the classroom. But what order would he give? If Euphemia was killed, it would draw Cornelia down on him. He clenched a fist as he began to go through a list of possibilities. If he was discovered, he'd quickly be drawn back into the royal family. Along with Nunnally.

"Lelouch," came the teacher's call, "come in here, I know you're there." Lelouch gritted his teeth. He steeled himself, turning his usual aloof cold self. He turned around into the doorway. Her blue eyes were staring right at him and went wide. Lelouch feigned ignorance. He moved to his seat, thankfully behind Euphemia.

"Now that everyone is here," the teacher began, arms crossed, "we have a new student. Please introduce yourself." Euphemia stood, and Lelouch's jaw twitched.

"My name is Euphemia l-" she hesitated, and she glanced over her shoulder a second. "Euphemia Lamperouge." Lelouch stiffened, eyes widening. People were looking at him and Euphemia, confused.

"Are you related to Lelouch?" A voice asked. Lelouch focused his eyes on Euphemia's back, waiting for her answer.

"Yes," Euphemia replied, smiling. Lelouch frowned, disappointed. "He's my half-brother."

"Thank you, Euphemia," the teacher said. Euphemia sat down. Lelouch ignored the looks from the rest of the class. Lelouch stood the second the class was over, walking quickly towards the door. A hand gripped his arm. He looked down to see Euphemia holding his arm.

"Lelouch," she asked, frowning at him. "Can we talk?" Lelouch frowned at her in irritation. Euphemia winced at the withering look but didn't let go of his arm. "We can talk later." Lelouch glanced away.

"We'll talk later," Lelouch declared. Euphemia let go of his arm and he walked out of the class room. As soon as he was gone he was running. He had to check on Nunnally. He ran right past Kallen, who recognized him, eyes going wide at his alarm.

"Lelouch!" she shouted after him. He ignored her. He reached Nunnally's classroom and peeked in, desperately. There she was, sitting in the front. Lelouch walked back into a wall and breathed a sigh of relief. "Lelouch," Kallen repeated, going around the corner. "Are you alright?"

"Lelouch?" came another voice. Lelouch froze, for the second time today. That voice. He looked in the opposite direction from Kallen, from where the voice had come. His friend's smiled greeted him.

"Suzaku?" Lelouch asked, disbelieving.

"Suzaku?" Kallen echoed, confused.

"Suzaku?" Euphemia added, cheerfully.

0.0.0

A few minutes later the four of them were on the roof. Lelouch leaned against the stone railing, exhausted. Today was full of surprises. Lelouch hated surprises. Kallen stood near his right shoulder, Suzaku and Euphemia took up his left.

"Lelouch," Euphemia began, curious. "Do you and Suzaku know each other?"

"Yeah, we were friends from seven years ago," Suzaku replied, hesitantly. Lelouch turned and faced the small group. "When he and...and..." Suzaku gave Lelouch a questioning look.

"I lived with his family before the invasion," Lelouch finished, simply. He looked over at Kallen, gesturing at Euphemia. "This is Euphie, my half-sister." Kallen looked over at the princess.

"Nice to meet you," Kallen said, smiling in her frail persona.

"Hello," Euphemia said, smiling. "Are you Lelouch's girlfriend?" Lelouch and Kallen stiffened, eyes whipping to Euphemia's direction. The pair glanced at each other, nervously. Were they in a relationship? That had been their cover. But Lelouch wasn't sure it was true. He steeled his jaw and looked back at Euphemia.

"She's my girlfriend," he confirmed. Kallen blushed, still looking at Lelouch over her shoulder.

"How lovely," Euphemia replied cheerfully, smiling a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. Lelouch pondered that. Did Euphemia disapprove of Kallen somehow? It irritated him. That was their father bleeding through if Euphie thought that.

"How did you and Suzaku meet?" Lelouch asked, friendly, and narrowed his eyes slightly, waiting for a lie or a cover story.

"I jumped out of a window and he caught me!" Euphemia replied, angling her head, closing her eyes, smiling with mirth. Lelouch's jaw dropped slightly, and one of his eyebrows shot up. Was she serious? That had to be a lie.

"I never thought I'd wind up catching a young lady out of nowhere," Suzaku joked, scratching the back of his head. Lelouch could read the truth in Suzaku's joke. Euphemia hadn't been lying. Of all the buildings in all the colonies in all the world... Lelouch made a mental note to remember that fate enjoyed a sense of humor. Or was controlled by writers for television.

0.0.0

"Two weeks and not even a sign of Zero!" Gottwald growled in fury, slamming his gloved fist down on the table. Villeta winced from her seat nearby on the couch. Quel frowned at Jeremiah and walked from the room, not saying a word. "I'll never be able to recover my old place in this world so long as that man is alive," Jeremiah growled, despair creeping into his voice. He glanced over at the Britannian flag near the corner of the room. "I wonder what she would do..."

0.0.0

Lelouch suppressed a sigh in class. After fighting Cornelia, education had become even less interesting than it had been before. He already knew everything this school had to offer. He'd already read everything through the library. He needed to get started on forming his army. Ohgi's group would be an ideal start.

He narrowed his eyes as a separate thought struck him. He eyed Kallen as she jotted down notes. They might be too familiar to him. The JLA would be sufficiently organized, but he wasn't sure of their motives. The important part was Nunnally's future. The public announcement system gave a ping. Lelouch blinked and looked up at the ceiling.

'All student council, please report to the student council chamber,' Milly requested of the P.A. system. Lelouch frowned as he stood and walked from the classroom. He heard footsteps behind him and glanced over his shoulder to see Kallen following him. He gave her a questioning look.

"I am a member of the student council," Kallen reminded Lelouch. Lelouch smiled and looked ahead as he walked towards the student council room.

He blinked as soon as the pair entered the student council room. Suzaku and Euphemia were sitting in the student council room. Milly turned to face the pair and smiled.

"Good, you're here!" she exclaimed, cheerfully. "We were just explaining that since all students are required to join a club we were going to give these two a tour of the various clubs and activities!"

"Prez," Lelouch began, eyes widening in Milly's direction, "That sounds like it could take a while. Maybe some other time would be-"

"Too late, here comes the martial arts club!" Milly interrupted, raising a pointing finger at the door. Lelouch heard a roar from the door behind him and Kallen. "I'd move, I told them not to take it easy on Suzaku since he's new."

"You've got to be joking!" Lelouch roared, leaning forward.

"Nope," Milly smiled, eyes closed, angling her blonde head. Lelouch sighed and drew Kallen over to the edge of the room, eying the ceiling the entire time. The doors burst open to reveal fifteen muscled men in karate outfits. The leader raised his fist with a challenging grin on his face. Suzaku recoiled in shock at the display.

"Kururugi! On this day you face the wrath of the martial arts club!" The leader declared. "Now, on your guard!" The fifteen members of the martial arts club charged. Lelouch kept his eyes on the ceiling, his expression bored. The rest of the student council's faces quickly turned to horror as they witnessed Suzaku's work. Lelouch could hear the blows.

The leader fell to the floor with a bit of blood flowing from a split lip.

"Dang, the president didn't tell me he was that fast," he noted to himself. He looked back to Suzaku who was in a dedicated fighting pose.

"I apologize," Suzaku said politely, his face firm. "But now you face the Zangetsu School of Kenpo, taught by the one and only Kyoshiro Tohdoh, now prepare yourself!" He ran straight at the leader as the man tried to get up and run. Suzaku jumped in the air.

"Nightmare-windmill-dragon's roar-hurricane-spinning kick!" Suzaku spun as he announced the attack. All four of Suzaku's limbs hit the martial arts club member.

"Ow..." the man hissed in pain.

"He barely moved!" Milly exclaimed in astonishment.

"Suzaku is scary," Nina noted, clutching her bag.

"I bet I could make some money on that kinda skill!" Rivalz noted.

"Heh, sorry," Suzaku apologized, scratching the back of his head and smiling at the student council members. "I guess I got a little carried away. Not as fast as I used to be."

"NOT AS FAST?!" the student council sans Lelouch chorused, in shock.

"Think we found the right club," Lelouch commented, striding past Suzaku with his hands in his pockets. Suzaku glanced at him as he past.

"Actually, I was thinking the student council would be a good fit," Suzaku announced. Lelouch stopped, eying over his shoulder. If Suzaku was in the student council it might make it harder to act as Zero. But he could keep an eye on Suzaku in turn. "If that's okay."

 _I don't know what to do,_ Lelouch thought to himself, annoyed. _Suzaku is my friend, but he's a member of the Britannian military and knows about C. On the other hand, I can think of no better protector for Nunnally._

"Especially since Lelouch and Suzaku are friends!" Euphemia added cheerfully. Lelouch winced as the student council gasped in surprise.

"Is that true Suzaku?" Shirley asked, leaning in over Milly's shoulder.

"Y-yeah," Suzaku admitted, sheepishly. Lelouch ground his teeth in his head, eyes closed. "From the invasion of Area eleven."

"Well, you must know Nunnally!" Shirley added with a smile.

"Nunnally's around?" Suzaku asked in surpise.

"Nunnally's around?" Euphemia asked, leaning in.

Lelouch slapped his palm onto his face.

0.0.0

Alice watched the school with her usual disinterest. She'd never seen these kind of things before. They still didn't interest her. Her task was much more complicated. She eyed in the direction of Guilford. Standing by the long limousine was in no way connected to her primary objective.

"We're to collect princess Euphemia," Guilford reminded. By Princess Cornelia's order." Guilford mentioned from beside Alice. "Area eleven is a dangerous place for the Royal family. Two of the Emperor's children were lost in the war, and just recently Prince Clovis himself. Therefore we're to safeguard Euphemia."

"But that has nothing to do with my orders," Alice reminded. "Should this impede my orders I will ignore Cornelia's orders." Guilford frowned at the young woman. Alice heard a commotion and looked over in the general direction.

"Please, stop teasing me," a wheel-chair bound girl cried out desperately. She threw her hands out to try to touch one of the five girls who were circling her. "Please!"

"Aw, Nunnally can't see where we put her notebook!" one of the girls mocked. Alice frowned, her anger rising. She began to walk over.

"Blind girl can't see, blind girl can't see," the girls chorused in a sing-song. Alice walked right behind one of them. Alice grappled one of the girl's arms and yanked it behind the girl's back.

"Give her her notebook," Alice warned, angrily.

"Geez, fine," the girl acquiesced. Another of the girls threw the notebook into Nunnally's lap and the girls walked off. Alice released the last girl's arm. As the girls left, Alice looked the blind girl up and down, still disinterested.

"You're not from Asheford," Nunnally noted in her sweet voice. "Who are you may I ask?" Alice blinked at the question. No one had cared about who she was before.

"My name is Alice," the young knight replied, uncertain.

"Thank you, Alice," Nunnally said, offering a smile and a hand. Alice was taken aback at the smile. Something about it, reminded Alice of her mother. She took the hand, offering a smile. Nunnally frowned as she held Alice's hand.

"But, you don't know if you have a real name," Nunnally commented, frowning uncertainly. Alice blinked in surprise. How did she know that? She frowned, looking away.

"But, if you don't have a name," Nunnally hesitated. "But I guess, from now on you can really be Alice, because that's what I know you by!" Alice looked back at Nunnally, surprised. Then she smiled. Nunnally smiled in return.

0.0.0

Lelouch was walking Suzaku to Nunnally's room. The pair were in one of the more remote hallways. It was perfect for Lelouch's plan to talk. Time to discover what exactly Suzaku knew.

"So, the girl," Lelouch began, hesitant. Suzaku glanced at Lelouch. "The girl in the capsule. Did you find anything about her?" Lelouch glanced at Suzaku. Suzaku looked away and Lelouch narrowed his eyes.

"Nothing," Suzaku admitted. "By the time I came to, I was gone. I asked some others, but the only people who knew anything were the royal guard." Lelouch widened his eyes back to their normal expression. "But I don't know any more than that."

"I see," Lelouch commented. "I was curious. I never saw her again." Lelouch paused a moment. He had just lied to Suzaku. His stride returned in a nanosecond. Suzaku hadn't even noticed. Lelouch had lied to everyone he knew. Suzaku was no different.

Lelouch opened the door as Suzaku and he reached Lelouch's apartment in the Academy. Lelouch glanced inside to see if C was around. She wasn't in the immediate vicinity. Nor were Sayoko or Nunnally. Lelouch blinked in alarm. Nunnally would be out of class by now. Lelouch slid the door closed and gave Lelouch an apologetic shrug.

"I'm sorry, Suzaku," he said sheepishly. "I don't know where Nunnally is at the moment. She should be here." Suzaku got an irritating smirk on his face.

"Are you worried I'll see how messy your room is?" Lelouch's eyes narrowed angrily at Suzaku's accusation.

"I keep my room in spotless condition and you know it!" Lelouch growled.

"I know. I've never seen someone have so much fun organizing book shelves by author, year, edition and genre," Suzaku teased, looking up as he remembered. Lelouch choked. C was in the hallway behind Suzaku. Lelouch's eyes went wide as he stared. His hands clenched into fists at his sides. If Suzaku saw her Lelouch would be ruined!

"Quit talkin' ancient history!" Lelouch roared. He pressed the control to open the door to his and Nunnally's room. "Go look, I dare you!"

"Lelouch," Suzaku said, stunned at Lelouch's mood swing. "I believe you. Is there something wrong?" He began to look over his shoulder. Lelouch did the last thing he thought he'd ever do. C hid in another room along the hallway.

0.0.0

Milly, Kallen, and Shirley walked around the corner and came into sight of Lelouch and Suzaku. Lelouch's limbs were wrapped tightly around Suzaku, Lelouch's chin planted firmly on Suzaku's shoulder, squeezing Suzaku tightly.

Shirley's jaw dropped. Kallen blinked to make sure she was awake. Milly leaned in further to make sure she saw everything clearly. Lelouch reddened.

"Uh, Lelouch?" Suzaku asked, uncertain. "Are we...having a moment? Or something?"

"Is this a secret love thing?" Milly asked, shocked. "Oh my god, that's why you never date! Ha ha!" Milly raised a triumphant fist in victory. "Finally I have some dirt on you Lelouch!"

"No this isn't what it looks like!" Lelouch shouted desperately.

"Why are you still hugging him?" Kallen pointed out. Suzaku and Lelouch looked at each other. At how close they were, their lips almost touched. They jumped apart suddenly, empowered at the prospect of public embarrassment.

"Admit it, lulu, you're gay," Milly suggested, walking closer, predatory. Kallen winced for Lelouch. She eyed the ceiling praying to deities on high on Lelouch's behalf. "Anyway, we came to get you for Prince Clovis's memorial speech. All students are required to attend." The name 'Clovis' made Kallen wince. "Don't worry though, I'm sure you and Suzaku can make out after wards."

TAKE THAT EVERY YAOI-FAN EVER!

0.0.0

"ALL MEN," Charles zi Britannia began, over the giant screen. "ARE NOT CREATED EQUAL! SOME ARE BORN SWIFTER AFOOT, OTHERS STRONGER!" Despite himself, sheer hatred burned through Lelouch. It was never rage, nor mind-numbing anger. It wasn't depression. It was embarrassment, resentfulness.

"YOU ARE DEAD! YOU'VE ALWAYS BEEN DEAD TO ME. DEAD EVER SINCE THE MOMENT YOU WERE BORN!" the speakers rang, to Lelouch. "WHO GAVE YOU THE FINE CLOTHES YOU WEAR, A COMFORTABLE HOME, THE FOOD YOU EAT. YOUR VERY LIFE? ALL THESE THINGS I GAVE TO YOU!"

Lelouch's eyes narrowed at the memory and delusion. His sanity resounded with these words. Each of them true. Lelouch's anger was a castle built on sand, and the fact that his father's words were true made Lelouch hate.

But his Geass was not given to him by his father.

"You are dead," he whispered, a vow to the screen and his father's face upon it. "Dead from the moment you abandoned my mother and Nunnally. I'll take the fine clothes you wear, and the food you eat. Your comfortable throne, and your very life. All of those things I'll take from you."

Unseen to Lelouch, Kallen glanced of her shoulder. Suzaku noticed out of the corner of his eye. Kallen had been close enough to hear Lelouch's barely whispered vow.

"ALL HAIL BRITANNIA!"

"All hail Britannia," The student body chorused. Suzaku frowned.

"Long live Japan," Kallen whispered.

 _I will obliterate Britannia,_ Lelouch added mentally.

Kallen turned to Lelouch as the student body was dismissed. She ran the few steps to Lelouch and threw her arms around his neck, then pressed her lips to Lelouch's. Lelouch received her in surprise, falling over. Kallen went with him, keeping her lips to his, grinding her mouth hungrily on his. The young men, including Suzaku, stared wide-eyed. Girls squealed. Lelouch didn't care.

Kallen broke the kiss and licked her lips with a girlish grin on her face. Lelouch was confounded at the new development.

"Why...?" he asked, barely able to voice one syllable.

"For Shinjuku," Kallen whispered. "And to kill the Gay rumor in the crib. You owe me one, Zero." She kissed him on the cheek and stood, walking off, blushing as she walked by the hundreds of students. It might hurt her frail persona. But hell, it was worth it.

"What happened?" Milly yelled, excited.

"Kallen kissed Lelouch," Suzaku informed, impressed. " _Very_ intensely."

"I see why the young men enjoy this school," Guilford remarked as Euphemia walked over to the government car.

0.0.0

a/n Oh boy hope this was worth the wait. (But then we always knew Lelouch would take a while. OH!) So sorry bout this wait. This chapter was rewritten three times to get it right. As you can see the status quo of the show (that rhymed, curse you whos!) and it's gonnna keep on moving. What's next, the hotel kidnapping? Much more exciting than a walk and talk. That should blaze right along. On to answering reviews, becos you deserve it!

 **Shade Seeker-** bitchin' name. And IF I continue into R2, (which I may pass off to someone,) Lelouch was going to reveal his identity to the Black Knights on the iceberg ship. As Lelouch Lamperouge. Lelouch is really a solitary figure. He's just divided from the collective gathering of mankind. It's how he is. so...not sure about empathy. And Rolo...I...I don't know anymore. He's like the most uninteresting character in this entire show. Wait, can that be right? Rivalz, Guilford, Andreas...no yeah. Most uninteresting.

 **LiteMagarita-** no ocs here. Well...technically Alice is oc, but she's based on Alice from Knightmare of Nunnally, so. She's the only one. And she has an important role to play in R2 AND in season one as well. Let's just say I've yet to reveal how, but it should prove most interesting to reveal if, when, and/or how Lelouch will manipulate Alice for his own ends.

 **Findrato-** It's Suzaku/euphie. Or...Sukemia? Eupheku? Zakuphie? Euph...sezakumia? Eusezakumia? That sound's like a disease. A horrible disease. With anal seepage. (which come to think of it, Euphemia may have had because you know she voided her bowels at some point after Zero shot her. Wow, that was...too soon. Way too soon.)

 **Titanfire999-** No this is not rated M. Trust me I'd love the extra freedom, but I had a really good rated M-story and it got viewed diddly dick. Just accessibility on for M-Rated is awful. Most people are too lazy for switching to M, so if you have a rated M story that does well. Great. But just, naw. Not enough access. Why, are you asking for Lemons? Cos I'm trying to avoid that.

 **Ryder77-** ARGH, I know! I missed that one too. I just stopped and realized I wasn't gonna take it anywhere for like, three more chapters. After Narita that whole arc will be in full swing. (Going to get very rocky for Lulu-Kallen involving that. Wait, Lulu-Kallen? Lullen? Kalouch? Stradtzukitania? Okay, screw you I'm keeping that one.)


	7. Chapter 7

**The Demon and the Red Moon**

 _Feels good to be writing. Like an old suit I never get to wear. Sorry bout these waits. The only thing is I got a bitchin' master-grade. (Hi-nu Gundam ver. Ka.) And two more are coming. So I'm gonna be knee-deep in plastic._

 _On to answering some reviews._

 _There'll be lemon, don't worry. Just...t-rated lemon. Don't know how that's gonna work, but I won't leave you hanging for long. Ish. Longish. Definitely this millennium. Probably this century._

 _The Yaoi thing was my fourth-wall violating declaration that YAOI is WRONG._

 _Kitana? I only have two words to say to that. FETISH HER!_

 _Best? Ever? Should write R2? Maybe._

 _Why no one thought to look for Lelouch by his mother's maiden name after the invasion of Japan? Well, Charles didn't care, what with his_ **Raganarok Connection!** _and all. And...uh...why wouldn't they find him with just his first name? Or by drawing the connection with himself and Nunnally? Or that he pays his phone bills with illegal gambling money? (I assume.) Why did no one in Area Eleven recognize him? Code Geass is full of holes, roll with it._

 _Jiggyjoe: mentioned cuz of the fifteen reviews in a row. (Sucks in deep breath completely needlessly.) Quel was an accident due to lack of information at the time. Not going to bother changing though, since he's (spoiler alert) gonna die. Quickly. Painfully. Like all the characters of game of thrones. Asheford (and Stradtfeld) are both intentional misspellings on my part. Asheford just looks more Britannian with an E in it. Calling CC "C" is DESIGNED to draw the connection between C's World and her. More deliberate stuff. AND finally, for the "Majesty" thing. Honest mistake if you're right, but also made in the Code Geass anime a few times. Go bug Sunrise._

 _ **Technical Mistake: Last Chapter Euphemia was supposed to hear the name Lamperouge before she told everyone else what her last name was. My bad. Slightly off.**_

 _ **Side note. I had to freakin' comb the last episode every freaking frame of footage for the one bit where the blue-haired girl Inoue dies because I didn't know her name. NO ONE EVER CARED ABOUT THESE PEOPLE. SERIOUSLY, OHGI, KALLEN, SOMETIMES TAMAKI, THAT'S ALL WE CARE ABOUT THESE PEOPLE FOR! AND MOSTLY OHGI COS VILLETA'S BEWBS, KALLEN COS OF KALLEN'S BEWBS AND GUREN, AND TAMAKI COS COMEDIC RELIEF!**_

Spinzaku Kururugi Fact #3 At the center of each Rasengan lies a tiny Spinzaku Kururugi

 **Chapter 7-The Resistance Group**

C opened the door just as the pizza deliveryman arrived. She accepted the pizza without comment or even facial expression and closed the door again. The only sign of her excitement was her faster than usual, but still casual pace. She entered Lelouch's room without caring about the condition of his things. She flopped the pizza down on the bed and lay down beside it, flipping the box open.

Then a blast of pressure and hot air blasted the window in and threw glass like shrapnel. C was thrown away by the blast of hot air, impaled in three places, her pizza becoming a mess on the floor.

0.0.0

Lelouch rose from his landing area on the floor of class. His forehead stung above his left eyebrow. His left arm had a sharp stabbing pain in it. He looked down at his hand and saw he was bleeding. He recoiled quickly, getting to a sitting position. He put pressure on the wound, where a shard of glass had sliced into his arm.

"Class is everyone alright?" The teacher began, panicked. Students were screaming.

"Lelouch!" Rivalz cried out, alarmed. Hearing Lelouch's name made Kallen's head swing about almost instantly. She gasped as she saw the blood covering him. His hand was white-knuckled around his arm. Kallen and Rivalz both ran over. Kallen removed her tie and began to wrap it around Lelouch's wounded arm, dropping to her knees beside him. He hissed as she began to tie the fabric tightly around his arm.

"I'll be alright," Lelouch said as he closed his left eye as blood began to drip over it. Nurses began to rush in along with other teachers.

"Over here!" Kallen shouted. She was ushered out of the way as the adults began to gather around Lelouch. He was the only one severely injured.

0.0.0

'I am Kusakabe of the Japanese Liberation Front,' a plump bearded man said on the television at the hospital. Kallen watched in horror. Her own people had targeted innocent people. Kusakabe continued to speak, decked in his armored green uniform. "We demand the immediate withdrawal of all Britannian Military from Japan within the next 96 hours. If our demands are not met will attack again."

 _'Britannia won't be defeated by terrorism.'_ Lelouch's words echoed in Kallen's ears. She wanted to believe that Britannia would ease back. But she'd seen Shinjuku and Saitama. She remembered her own words during the theft of the capsule. She hadn't released the poison gas.

"How is Lelouch?" Suzaku asked from behind Kallen. "I was working on an assignment when I heard the news. Is he alright?"

"He's with the doctors," Kallen said without turning, looking down, almost in shame. "They said he'd need several stitches but that his injuries are non-life threatening." She winced as she felt her eyes water. "All the glass that shattered was right beside him. He was the only one hurt!" tears began to leak from her eyes, and she ground them shut, angry.

Suzaku blinked, wide-eyed, at Kallen's emotional tone as she spoke. She felt very strongly for Lelouch, Suzaku could tell. He smiled, despite himself.

"Seems some crazy eleven blew himself up with a Sakuradite bomb," Lloyd noted whimsically. Kallen and Suzaku turned to face Lloyd, glaring angrily. Lloyd paused, his hands still in his pockets, suddenly very nervous. "Sorry, Japanese," he corrected, grinning sheepishly behind his glasses.

"Not that it matters, the Britannian Military will be on the Japanese Liberation Front even harder now. They tracked the broadcast to the Kawaguchi region." Suzaku recoiled at Lloyd's mention of Kawaguchi. He spun onto the Kallen.

"Isn't Kawaguchi where Madam President and the others went for their school trip?" Suzaku asked Kallen, alarmed. Kallen's eyes widened in alarm.

"Lloyd, Princess Cornelia has asked us to get to Kawaguchi!" Cecile shouted as she left the stairwell. Suzaku ran past Lloyd for the stairwell. "Suzaku, wait, your friend!"

"Oh bloody hell!" Lloyd exclaimed, following after Suzaku.

0.0.0

C winced as she pulled the bloody glass out of her chest. Her wound began to close as soon as the glass was moved. She looked over the shrubs to see the emergency workers scrambled about Lelouch's room. She tossed the bloody glass away. The student council building looked totaled.

"Oh stop teasing me," she commented to the ether. "Who do you think you're dealing with?"

She pulled another glass shard from her arm.

"No, I don't know how Lelouch is. Why don't you find out yourself?" C blinked, surprised. She scowled. "Fine, don't talk to me." She glanced over at the wall to see the same blue-haired girl draw a cross into the wall. She narrowed her eyes at the absurdity.

0.0.0

"Lelouch? Is Lelouch here?" Nunnally asked as Rivalz pushed her along the hallway. Kallen was about to call out to Nunnally when a hand grabbed her shoulder. She looked to see her father.

"Kallen, are you alright?" Her father asked, concerned.

"I'm fine," Kallen assured. She turned back to Nunnally. "Nunnally, over here!" Rivalz drove Lelouch's blind sister over to where Kallen and her father were standing.

"Kallen, it's awful!" Nunnally exclaimed.

"Lelouch and Nunnally's room was destroyed in the blast," Rivalz informed, sadly. Kallen winced. She glanced at her father. "And there's nowhere in the dorms that can take care of Nunnally. Even if Sayoko lived with her."

"Dad," Kallen started, wondering. Kallen's father looked from Kallen to Nunnally, thoughtfully.

0.0.0

Lelouch winced as the surgeon drew the thread of the stitches on his left arm. He glanced at the blood-stained tie in his other hand. Kallen had helped him. He made a mental note to thank her. Then the surgeon yanked to draw the string tight. He hissed and forgot his train of thought.

"I need to take this," a nurse said, putting a hand on the tie. Lelouch looked at her.

"It'll be fine," he declared, using his Geass.

"No, it won't. It will be dangerous," the nurse insisted. Lelouch's eyes widened as his Geass failed to take effect. He let go of the tie, regretfully. His Geass hadn't worked. Was it possible his wound had removed his Geass? Or was it because C had been injured?

He pondered the idea as they wrapped his arm and put it into a sling. A doctor escorted Lelouch out of the room. He saw Kallen, Nunnally, Rivalz and Kallen's father waiting for him.

"Are you the parent?" The nurse asked Kallen's father.

"I'm his guardian, yes," He replied. Lelouch narrowed his eyes a twitch at the response.

"Lelouch should be fine, but he will need help with bathing himself and eating," the nurse informed. Lelouch made an annoyed sound. He wasn't an invalid, Nunnally's care was more important.

"I'll be certain to have him cared for," Kallen's father replied dutifully. "He and his sister will be living with my family for the time being." Lelouch's vision focused on Kallen's father.

"Who decided this?" He asked in loud irritation.

"Kallen made the request that you stay in our house until your condition returns to normal," Kallen's father informed. Lelouch looked at Kallen.

"I don't need your pity!" Lelouch declared.

"Lelouch!" Nunnally admonished.

"Lelouch," Kallen admonished angrily. "How will you take care of Nunnally in the boy's dorm at Asheford academy." Lelouch gritted his teeth. He could never care for Nunnally in the small dorms. In reality Kallen's house was his best option. He winced and looked back at Kallen's father.

"Thank you, sir," Lelouch said, bowing graciously.

0.0.0

Milly and Shirley huddled around Nina in the center of the group of hostages. The room was normally the convention center. It was darkened, Milly could barely see Nina in front of her. They were all surrounded by soldiers in green uniforms. Nina's hand was trembling in fear. A large man calling himself Kusakabe had announced that they were his prisoners.

"Milly," came a whisper. Milly glanced over her shoulder. She blinked in surprise at Euphemia's face. "Don't worry Milly, Shirley, Nina. My sister won't let us be harmed. We just need to stay hopeful." As soon as Euphemia was done speaking the man calling himself Kusakabe reemerged. He looked around, searching.

He was overweight, but strongly muscled. His paunchy cheeks and chin were covered with a dark, heavily-styled beard and mustache. Above his curved nose, his beady eyes scanned the hostages. His green uniform was adorned in several places with medals and campaign ribbons. Rather than denote experience however, on him they signaled a desire to appear larger to his enemies.

He would've almost looked comical if not for the sword at his side. True sword-making in Japan had foundered after the second pacific war. Since then many of these almost ceremonial pieces were stamped cold-forged blades of sub-standard steel. Kusakabe's was of even later vintage, from the recent invasion of Japan.

"That one," he said, pointing a black-gloved hand at something Euphie couldn't see. "The head of the committee. Bring him to the roof." Two soldiers came forward and picked up the man, who was already screaming. Euphemia winced behind her clandestine glasses. Kusakabe left the room following behind the two soldiers and the hostage.

0.0.0

Lelouch had instantly begun searching for a television. He didn't have time for niceties, and more importantly, his friends didn't have the time. He quickly grabbed the remote and flipped through channels until he found a news broadcast covering Kawaguchi. It was getting dark.

'Wait, there's been a new development!' a female voice said as the camera zoomed in on the roof. At Kawaguchi, Suzaku had already noticed and zoomed in with Lancelot's fact-sphere sensors. Two soldiers were shoving a man to the edge. Lelouch gripped the remote tightly.

"Don't do it," he urged the television in vain. "Idiot, if you execute a hostage they'll move even faster and kill you all." The soldiers, not heeding Lelouch's vain prayers, kept shoving. "Stop it," an angry hissed whisper. Behind Lelouch, Kallen's eyes widened, her hands going into fists unconciously.

The soldiers shoved the man off the roof.

Suzaku saw it all. Lelouch saw nothing as the broadcast was cut away.

The man's face was visible most of the way down. Unfettered horror was painted across his face. Suzaku could hear him screaming through the gag. When the screaming didn't stop after the man had hit the ground, Suzaku realized he'd been screaming.

"Stupid idiot," Lelouch chided in Kallen's living room. The image changed again. Kusakabe sat on a couch, surrounded by Japanese soldiers.

'Our demands have gone unanswered,' Kusakabe noted, monotone. 'Therefore we will throw one hostage from the roof every thirty minutes. If Britannia values their lives, it will send word as to remove all military elements from Japan in 24 hours. Long Live Japan!' The screen went black.

'Repeating our top story,' an anchor began. Lelouch shut the television off.

"We don't know that Milly and the others are there," Kallen began, trying to calm Lelouch down. Lelouch didn't move for a moment.

"They're there," he declared. "Milly proposed it because it would interest Nina. The others would appreciate the resort. It was a perfect destination. I know, because she had me make the preparations." Lelouch set the remote down. He spun elegantly to face Kallen. "Therefore, it falls to me to ensure their safety."

"I," Kallen said, looking down. "I suggested Kawaguchi to Milly," she admitted, ashamed.

"Then we have common goals," Lelouch declared. "It doesn't change anything. And there are a few others that would be ideal for helping us." Kallen looked up in surprise at Lelouch's words. Not just what he was suggesting, but also his tone, the way he said it. She wasn't addressing Lelouch Lamperouge anymore. This was Lelouch vi Britannia. Zero.

"But if you're costume was in your room..." Kallen began, uncertain. Lelouch gave her a cocky smile. Kallen's heart did a small jump.

"Do you think I've been spending the past few weeks doing nothing?"

"How long does it take you to get dressed?" Lelouch asked half an hour later. His tone was irritated, and his mood was worse. He'd heard about women taking forever somewhere, but he never thought it was actually true. And while lives were at stake. This was completely unacceptable. 'And it's not like you're going to keep it on,' Lelouch mentally added. Then he shook his head after hearing how vulgar it sounded in his head.

"Shut up, Lelouch," Kallen grumbled as she opened the door. Lelouch's brain stopped for a moment at the sight of her. She was back in her terrorist uniform. Short red shorts, thigh-high leggings, and a red vest over a short shirt. Her hair was spiked up and complimented with her read head-band. Lelouch pushed off the wall into a standing position. His arm in the sling gave a sharp pinching in complaint.

He tried to hide his wince, but Kallen noticed it anyway. He began to walk for the front door.

"Where are you two going?" came the haughty female voice of Kallen's blonde mother. Lelouch stopped. She was below in the room leading to the doorway. Lelouch gritted his teeth. That woman was getting on his nerves rapidly. He felt his left eye manifest his Geass power.

"I, Lelouch vi Britannia command you," he began, flourishing his right arm.

"Lelouch vi Britannia?" the woman echoed. Then his Geass order took effect.

Lelouch and Kallen walked out the door just as Lady Stradtfeld began howling.

0.0.0

'I'm going to be scarred for life,' Kallen noted mentally as she ran to Ohgi's headquarters. She'd left Lelouch alone at the spot he wanted Kallen to bring Ohgi and the others to. She just hoped she could be fast enough.

0.0.0

Lelouch pulled a section of the wall out and revealed a second outfit. Lelouch had been preparing this for two weeks. He didn't think he'd need the second suit so suddenly. Luckily the third, fourth, and fifth were well on the way. That might be handy, seeing as Lelouch was feeling considerable doubt about his ability to use Geass.

It had worked on Kallen's mother, but not on the nurse. There were too many variables to consider. He removed his outer jacket that had been draped around his slung arm. On the one hand, his left eye had very nearly been destroyed. Was his Geass fluctuating because of the wound? Possibly blood flow, emotional health? C might know the answers.

"Going out already, so soon after your injury, Lelouch?" Lelouch stiffened at the sudden voice, but he relaxed, not looking at the source, he already knew who it was. Kallen wouldn't be back yet, and the only one who could know his location was...

"C," he finished, confidently. "Think of the devil, and she shall appear."

"I'm a devil now? I thought I was a witch," C commented, sitting down in Lelouch's chair.

"A witch would be able to provide more consistent results. Your bargain is having difficulties making itself known when needed," Lelouch noted aloud. He turned to face her. "My Geass, why won't it work?"

"Your injury might have something to do with that, or it might be a side-effect of your manifestation. All Geass is inherently different. If you live long enough you might even become familiar with how different." Cs monotone was just as irritating as the information she provided.

"You mean Geass is different in each person?" Lelouch asked to confirm.

"Each person is different, aren't they?" C said, as if it was obvious. "As to why your Geass isn't working. Another variable is that it's very young. You've only had it a short time, and you haven't yet lost control of it. I've seen Geass last for decades. It hasn't even reflected in your other eye yet."

"What?!" Lelouch hissed, upset. "I'll lose control of this Geass?"

"As it drives your brain to produce even more negative emotions," C confirmed, uninterested. Lelouch gritted his teeth. "Geass is like a parasite. It requires something of the user in order to function. In Geass case, that's negative emotions like irritation, anger, jealously. So it alters the person over time to make them more susceptible." C noted this with a smirk. "Suddenly having second thoughts?"

"Get it out of me," Lelouch ordered, angrily.

"I can't do that Lelouch," C countered. "I need you to fulfill your contract. I'll act as your accomplice, I'll protect you, I'll even die for you. But I won't take back that contract." Lelouch's gritted teeth shrunk to a dissatisfied frown.

"I very much doubt you'll die for me," Lelouch noted, turning back to his Zero costume. "Now get out." C refused to move. He gave her a glare.

"Suddenly worried about me seeing your parts, Lelouch? I didn't think you were so prudish," C teased. "But won't you be needing help with your arm, since you need the sling? I'm sure you'll look extra imposing with your cloak held closed by a hand in a sling." Lelouch turned, rebellious. He then reached over with his right arm and removed the sling, ducking under the strap, and flexed his left arm.

"Don't get cocky," he noted, ignoring the piercing pain of his arm. "Witch." He began to strip in front of C. She didn't even bat an eye as he unclothed. Lelouch finally blushed and turned around to cover himself. "A real witch would have decency," Lelouch taunted, irritated.

As soon as he was covered and wearing his cloak, he picked up his helmet and gloves and began to move out of his office in the vehicle.

"If you're my accomplice, help me move things," Lelouch demanded. He hissed as he tapped his left arm on the wall. Putting on that suit had been excruciating. It even squeezed down on the heavy bandage covering it, making it tingle and tickle in oddly painful ways. And he couldn't lift the boxes the way his arm was.

0.0.0

Kallen lead Ohgi and the others to a large wheeled vehicle. As they approached the door in the side, Kallen leaned against the side of the vehicle and gave Ohgi a smugly teasing smile. Ohgi walked in just as Kallen opened the door.

" _Welcome aboard,"_ Zero greeted. Ohgi made a surprised sound as he saw Zero.

"Are you sure you want us to join forces?" Ohgi asked, nervously.

" _Of course, we're comrades after all,"_ Zero replied. He crossed his legs on the couch. He almost jumped as the cushion on which he was sitting kicked him. He grinned inside his helmet as he remembered. He'd shoved C in the secret compartment under the bench.

"Do you have a mission to accomplish then?" Ohgi asked, uncertain. He looked around the vehicle. "And what is this thing? It's pretty swank." Zero cocked his head to his right side, just a tad. Ohgi noticed and blushed, embarrassed.

" _Swank indeed,"_ Zero noted. Tamaki snickered, flopping down on the couch next to Zero. C screamed, almost in pain, from under the cushions.

"Is there someone under there?" Ohgi asked, suddenly concerned.

" _It's a important prisoner in a private matter. As for the vehicle, I borrowed it from a nobleman who indulges my requests. No strings attached. So from now on this place can serve as our headquarters."_

"And no one would ever suspect us in something like this," Inoue noted. Kallen came inside and closed the door. Ohgi saw the cardboard box on the center table and bent over to open the top flaps inside. His mouth opened in surprise at the contents. He pulled the top item out. It was a sleek black leather jacket in a air-tight plastic wrap.

" _I hope they all fit. I got a variety of sizes made,"_ Zero announced, standing up. _"Don't worry about re-compensation. Like the headquarters they're part of the deal. If we're to form an army you need to at least look the part."_

The resistance group rocked back in surprise. An army?

"What do you mean an army?" Ohgi asked.

" _I told you in the rail car. Britannia will not fall to terrorism. It's little more than childish nuisance. That's why the Japanese Liberation Front lies in hiding, why the Japanese are forced to live in ghettos. Britannia will not be defeated by a resistance group."_ The group watched Zero as he spoke, stunned. Lelouch smiled inside his helmet. They were his now.

"Then...we're gonna be an army? All seven of us?" Ohgi asked, stunned.

"Eight," C announced, bursting out of the couch compartment. She climbed out and stood next to Zero. Lelouch frowned but didn't say anything.

" _No."_ Zero announced. _"We will grow bigger. Bigger than you could ever get as a resistance group. One day, we will be so large as to be a country in our own right. One day we will be a force to rival Britannia itself! Because, what I am...what we are trying to be,"_ Zero raised his arm hand open, then clenched into a claw as he finished. _"are Knights for Justice!"_

 **To Be Continued**

A/N Betcha didn't expect that! Okay, yeah, it's a bit of a cop-out, but hell, it's my fiction and I'll do what I want to, do what I want to. And let's be honest, you're pumped. I'm not even listening to metal and I'm pumped.


	8. Chapter 8

**Demon and the Red Moon**

 _Well, hope you enjoyed that wind up. Here's the pitch._

 _Side note: I'm gonna play Warhammer 40k but has no ARMEH! NEEDS AN ARMEH!_

 _Side note. To the side. I'm way more excited to write up the next chapter because it's gonna be very different and not re-writing the show._

Spinzaku Kururugi Fact #99 Spinzaku doesn't spin like a hurricane. Hurricanes spin like Spinzaku.

 **Chapter 8: The Black Knights**

"Barbaric elevens!" Cornelia raged, pacing across the command room of the G-1 Mobile Command Center. Usually the command room was full of minor officers and strategic advisers. At the moment just Cornelia, Guilford and Dalton stood in the room. "Killing hostages. Is this how they repay the Emperor's mercy?!"

"Your highness," Dalton said, standing near the main screen, "we must think of how to rescue the hostages. Our approaches on land and sea were detected and countered. That leaves one possible approach."

"We have to hurry before they discover Euphie," Cornelia pointed out, angrily.

"So far none of them have discovered that fact," Guilford pointed out helpfully.

"But we can use the last possible approach," Dalton reminded. "The main utilities tunnel. It's been constructed to accommodate Sutherlands. So we should have no problem launching an assault."

"Do it," Cornelia commanded, pacing again.

"I've already prepared a team. They're making their insertion now," Dalton declared.

Three Sutherland suddenly dropped to the paved roadway that lined the utilities tunnel. The concrete structure was lit only by low-level red lighting. The Knightmares opened their forward sensor arrays to reveal their fact-sphere sensors. There was nothing in the visible range of the sensor.

"This is Riker Squad, we're beginning our assault now," the lead pilot declared into his radio. With that, the three machines sprinted forward on their wheeled feet. Nine tons of Britannian might sped down the tunnel rapidly.

At the end of the tunnel the leader saw a small explosion. The zoomed in with his fact-sphere sensor again. As he zoomed in he saw four Glasgow carrying a gigantic cannon. It was the last thing he ever saw. In the center of the tunnel the shell stripped off its outer casing and released millions of heavy ball bearings.

The millions of small metal balls ripped into the three Knightmares. Even if one ball only went through a few centimeters of armor, three more struck the weakened armor, ripping through it. The assault unit was ripped to shreds merely a few hundred feet from their insertion point.

"What the hell was that?!" Cornerlia yelled in the control room, suddenly anxious. Dalton was touching a headset against his ear. Guilford was staring at the screen in shock.

"It looks like they modified a Glasgow into a linear cannon. There's no way any Knightmare could survive that much fire." Dalton frowned as he finished reporting and lowered the headset. "Your highness, we may have to consider a new plan of attack."

Cornelia winced, her teeth gritted. No Knightmare. But she had to try her best Knightmare.

"Get me Earl Asplund," she ordered.

0.0.0

Kallen stripped off her red and orange uniform, her back to Inoue. She kept a wary blue eye on the locked door of Zero's office. She glanced over as C nonchalantly removed her white uniform and dropped it on the floor. Suddenly naked, the green-haired girl pulled on a long-skirt and a black leather jacket, snapping it closed and kneeling down to pull on a knee-high pair of boots.

"Hey, Kallen," Inoue began, drawing Kallen's attention. Inoue looked over her own shoulder to meet Kallen's gaze. "Who's this Zero guy? You know who he is, right?" Kallen winced. She knew who Zero was, but could she betray Lelouch and Nunnally, even for her friends?

"I..." Kallen began, hesitant.

"He's an orphan," C interrupted, spinning to face Inoue and Kallen.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Inoue replied quickly. "It's just that he seems to like you, Kallen." Kallen jumped at the words, suddenly blushing, feeling awkward. "Having you show us where to meet him so many times, and using you as the distraction in Shinjuku."

"Oh...that's...that's..." Kallen's mind drew a blank as she faced away, still blushing. She struggled to find the words to say. C just stared with her nonchalant gold eyes.

"They're lovers," C finally announced, making Kallen jump again, alarmed.

"No, it's not like that!" Kallen interrupted, angry.

There was a knock at the door.

'Kallen? It's Ohgi, are you guys dressed yet?' Ohgi said through the door.

'Be there in a minute!' Ohgi heard Kallen reply through the door. Ohgi walked back downstairs. Back inside, Kallen continued. "Zero and I are..." she paused as she tried to think of what she and Lelouch were. "We're not lovers, damn it! We're just working together, that's it!"

 _These damn walls aren't thick enough,_ Lelouch grumbled to himself.

0.0.0

Cornelia was frowning when Suzaku was led into the command center. Guilford walked over to stand beside Cornelia again. The private who led Suzaku, Lloyd and Cecile stepped aside for the trio to enter the center of the room.

"We have a possible hostage rescue plan," Cornelia began, abrasively. "But our standard Knightmares don't have the speed or durability to get past a linear cannon the Elevens have set up in the tunnel." Suzaku winced at the word "Elevens," but tried not to let it show. Cornelia didn't notice or didn't care.

"Lancelot can certainly destroy any pesky linear cannon," Lloyd bragged, whimsically. "But we've never tested the blaze luminous against that much firepower." Suzaku blinked, wondering how Lancelot was going to destroy a gun emplacement.

"Euphemia told me about the Lancelot's shields withstanding a chaos mine," Cornelia continued. "And it's more agile than the Sutherland we tried in the utilities tunnel. The problem is if we try again they may choose to execute all the hostages. If we had a diversion we would deploy the Lancelot. With the right pilot."

Suzaku blinked at the words, realizing what Cornelia meant.

"Viceroy," Suzaku began, looking up at her defiantly.

"Do not speak to Princess Cornelia in such a manner," Dalton warned, shouting. Cornelia raised a palm, calming Dalton.

"Your highness," Suzaku continued, calming his voice. "This isn't a military action, it's a hostage rescue. Even though I'm merely an Honorary Britannian and you don't want to rely on Elevens, letting innocent people die isn't worth pride. Isn't that true?"

"Suzaku!" Cecile warned. Suzaku gritted his teeth. There was silence as Cornelia stared at him.

"That's true, Kururugi," Cornelia admitted, smirking. Lloyd could've sworn it was almost pride. "Very well, if we have the chance we'll deploy the Lancelot. Have the system on standby in case we decide to move." The monitor beeped, causing Suzaku to jump and look at the screen.

"We're receiving a video message," Dalton commented, moving over to the table to read from the table's imaging screen.

"Go make your preparations," Cornelia ordered, glancing at Suzaku. Suzaku nodded and left, led away by Lloyd and Cecile. "Who is the message coming from?" Dalton's jaw dropped as he read the information.

"It says from Zero," Dalton answered, stunned.

"Answer it," the purple-haired commander ordered, her voice an angry hiss. The screen changed to the image of Zero's helmet, its visor staring right at Cornelia.

'Salutations, Cornelia,' Zero greeted, in a tone that suggested anything but polite formality.

"Zero," Cornelia almost hissed.

'One and only,' Zero replied, smugly. 'I was wondering if you required assistance.'

"Not from you!" Cornelia rebuked instantly. The helmet angled slightly, an amused twitch. "Now show yourself and face Britannian justice for the death of my brother Clovis!"

'Half-brother,' Zero commented, indifferent. 'And no.'

"What?" Cornelia narrowed her eyes at the image of zero.

'Why would I come face you over a dead brother of yours? You have plenty of dead brothers I'd imagine.' Zero paused, looking up as if in thought. 'Wasn't his name...Lelouch?' Cornelia winced, gritting her teeth at the cloaked anarchist. Cornelia felt the shame return almost instantly, a painful blade in her heart.

"Don't speak about Lelouch," she hissed, quietly.

'Very well,' Zero replied, politely. 'I understand there's a hostage situation. I could deliver those hostages safely to you. Including Euphemia.' Cornelia's eyes went wide at the mention of Euphemia.

 _My suspicion is confirmed,_ Lelouch thought to himself.

"What did you just say?" Cornelia asked, still stunned at the mention.

'I said it's within my power to rescue her!' Cornelia frowned, then closed her eyes.

"A deal with the devil," Cornelia muttered to herself. "Very well."

0.0.0

"What are you going to do?!" Cornelia later demanded, standing in the chair of her Knightmare as she faced the terrorist. Zero stood atop a television truck. Zero didn't begrudge Cornelia her disbelief. She was always more for action.

'I'm going to talk with their commander,' Zero repeated, flatly.

"That's ludicrous!" Guilford shouted from his Knightmare besides his princess's. "Britannia cannot negotiate with terrorists!" Zero looked right at the black-haired knight, oozing amusement.

'I'm not a member of the Britannian government or military,' Zero reminded Guilford.

"Are you kidding me?" Tamaki whispered in an angry hiss. "He's cut off all of our escape routes!" Kallen winced as Tamaki kept talking. He was right, they were completely surrounded and they couldn't fight their way out now. Just like for Suzaku Kururugi.

"This guy's mad...or brilliant," Ohgi commented quietly from the passenger seat beside Kallen.

"One last thing," Cornelia declared, then tossed something to Zero. The black figure reached out with his right arm and caught it. He looked at it and realized it was a Britannian pistol. Lelouch looked very carefully from Cornelia to the pistol and back again.

'You're giving me a loaded weapon?' he asked carefully, not moving.

"If you fail I can't go around sullying my honor by killing an unarmed man," Cornelia declared, smugly. "Even if you are an eleven."

'I'm not an eleven,' Zero declared, moving the pistol beneath his cloak. He clicked his heel on the top of the van. Kallen pressed on the gas and they began to approach the gate. _All preliminary conditions have been cleared. The JLF remain the only wild0card. Will they treat me as a potential ally, or nothing but a nuisance?_

Either way Lelouch was certain they'd get inside. The problem wasn't getting out, either. He was here to make sure his friends were alright, that was true... But at the same time, Lelouch wanted to learn the intentions of the Japan Liberation Front. He was stitched like a crude garment because of them, his arm in twitching scratching agony.

"Princess," Guilford began, watching the shrinking van approach the gate. "Are you sure it's wise to trust that person with Euphemia's safety?"

"I'm not trusting anybody. This'll give us time to engage our own plan. We'll wipe all of them out with one assault." Cornelia didn't look at Guilford, focusing on Zero's back. He wasn't an eleven. That man was the most potentially dangerous enemy she ever faced. Cornelia almost wanted the challenge of a truly matched battle with him. "Order the Lancelot into position."

As the van entered the hotel it was greeted by a half a dozen armed men. They gestured for Zero to get down. Lelouch carefully climbed down from the top of the van. They gave him a search and found the pistol.

"He's armed," the sergeant informed into the radio. Lelouch just waited patiently. He was always armed since Shinjuku. Just not with a traditional weapon.

'I'd prefer to keep that, if you don't mind,' Zero commented. The sergeant repeated it into the radio. Someone replied and the sergeant nodded and handed the firearm back. Zero took it. 'Thank you gentlemen. My associates in the van will remain here until I've met Kusakabe.' They gestured for Lelouch to follow them. As he was about to pass through a door, he looked back at the windshield of the van. He reached up and adjusted his collar, once, tugging it up, then walked through the door.

"That's the signal," Kallen confirmed, inside the van. "Let's go."

Lelouch entered the elevator with four JLF soldiers. Lelouch tried to bring his Geass up in his eye to make sure it was working. It only seemed to manifest for a second before Lelouch felt an odd tired feeling strike him. He gritted his teeth. He'd managed to get past Cornelia without using his Geass, but this would be a problem.

'I will inspect the hostages first,' Zero declared. The leader of the four looked over his shoulder, distaste reading in his expression. Lelouch glanced around him and noticed distaste being expressed among all of the soldiers. They didn't trust him. He was an unknown. Lelouch smirked, despite himself. Smart. The doors opened.

"Down the hall on your left," the leader declared. Lelouch followed the instructions and two guards opened the doors, revealing a darkened room. Lelouch's eyes adjusted and he saw the people. There were anxious whispers at his appearance.

'Don't be afraid,' Zero advised, speaking up. He looked around and saw them. Milly, Nina. Shirley. Lelouch stepped in to his left so he could look them head on. They weren't injured, but Nina was almost panicking. Lelouch winced. The four soldiers escorting Lelouch kept up with him, stepping within a foot of Nina. She looked up, terrified.

"An...e-eleven..." the stammered, weakly. The guard heard. This was entirely the wrong thing to say to any Japanese in the best of circumstances. Especially an armed resistance fighter belonging to the proudest group of resistance in all of Japan. And one who was holding the speaker hostage.

"What did you call me?!" he said, his voice loud in the silence. There were nervous jitters as he raised his voice. "We're not called Elevens, we're Japanese!" Lelouch gritted his teeth. Nina, calm down, he begged silently.

"Yes we're aware of that!" Milly shouted back.

 _Dammit,_ Lelouch hissed to himself.

"Why, you..." the soldier added, his anger flaring. "You three! Stand up!" The orders were shouted loud enough to cause screams in the group. Nina began to scream herself, trying to crawl away from the soldier. He grabbed her by the wrist, and in response Nina began to scream even louder, in pure terror.

'STOP IT!'

"STOP IT!"

Lelouch recoiled as his words chorused with Euphemia's. She'd jolted upright the same time as Lelouch had spoken. Lelouch reacted faster and grabbed the soldier whom Nina was offending and pulled him away. His arm gave a sharp pain as he did.

'Is this how the Japan Liberation Front treats innocent people?!' Zero demanded. The four men and the two guards leveled their rifles at Lelouch. Nina was whimpering. Lelouch looked over his shoulder at his friends and Euphemia. He gestured with his hand behind his back to get down. He examined the six carefully.

 _I'm cornered,_ Lelouch realized. _I could try to play it for humanitarian reasons, but it'd have no effect on them. Their pride's hurt, and they'll kill me and everyone here. If there was anytime I needed this Geass._ He was about to open his latch in his helmet. _Work...work..._

"What is this about?!" Kusakabe demanded, walking into the darkened room. He noticed Lelouch and stood straight, facing him head on. "Zero, I presume? May I ask what you are doing examining the hostages?"

'I wished to observe how well they'd been treated,' Zero replied, standing straight. He wrapped his cloak about himself, holding it closed, crossing his arms underneath. 'If we don't treat prisoners humanely how are you any different than the people you're resisting against?'

Nina just stared at the back of Zero's black cloak, stunned.

"Excuse me," Euphemia said, raising her voice to draw attention. Lelouch ground his teeth as he heard her speak. "My name is Euphemia li Britannia, the third princess of the Royal Family." Lelouch finally looked over his shoulder, to look at her.

 _You damned idiot,_ Lelouch thought. _You'll ruin everything!_

0.0.0

Suzaku steeled himself as he and Lancelot were lowered into the utilities tunnel. Lancelot felt heavier, and not just because of the coil-gun sitting on its waist. Lives were at stake besides just his own. If he could save his friends...he had to try. Even if it meant risking it all. His life was the least of his concerns.

'Hey Lelouch,' he'd said into the cellphone. 'I seem to only have gotten to your voice-mail. I have to try something pretty dangerous. If I never see you or any of the others again, thank you for being my friend. And tell Nunnally I'm sorry, and thank the others for me as well.' Suzaku had chuckled into the phone, smirking at himself. 'I hope you have a great life, Lelouch.'

"Private Kururugi," Miss Cecile said over the radio, "your target is the main foundation block of the hotel. Using the utilities tunnel, Z-01 Lancelot will rapidly advance on the foundation and destroy it. You'll be using the VARIS. Set ammunition type to anti-material, projectile velocity to level three. You'll only have a few shots. Also there's that gun-emplacement."

"Space'll be tight down there, so you'll have to put some effort into evading. Lancelot might be wrecked, that'll be unacceptable," Lloyd added.

"Yes, my lord!" Suzaku replied, almost shouting. On the other end Lloyd jerked the headset away from the shout, wincing. "Lancelot now launching!" Suzaku pushed the reigns forward as far as they could go.

In the Raiko Cannon cockpit, the pilots read the incoming Knightmare with shock and alarm.

"It's three times as fast as the others!" the lead pilot shouted into the radio.

0.0.0

'Three times as fast?' Zero muttered, remembering. Kusakabe looked from the radio to zero.

"You know the machine they're talking about?" Kusakabe asked again. Beside zero, Euphemia's eyes glanced away as she thought about what that might mean.

 _Suzaku?_ She wondered to herself. Her hands twitched, despite themselves. _Be careful, my friend,_ she pleaded.

'If it's what I think, you may consider surrendering now,' Zero replied, speaking clearly.

"I have great confidence in those men," Kusakabe declared, sitting up straight like an emperor on his throne.

'No,' Zero corrected, angling his helmet down. 'Your men are already dead.'

0.0.0

The raiko cannon fired. The shell screamed down the tunnel before bursting. Suzaku and Lancelot could read every pellet. He yanked on the sticks, and Lancelot veered around the ball bearings, rolling over the tunnel's rounded walls. Lancelot rode its land-spinners in a barrel roll around the tunnel.

"Good lord, It's on the damn ceiling! We didn't even scratch it!"

0.0.0

"Then they'll die fighitng for what they believe in, the liberation of Japan from these foreign invaders!" Kusakabe declared, still sitting, surrounded by his officers. Lelouch frowned in distaste. A zealot and a boisterous man. Clearly with delusions of grandeur.

'Why this hostage crisis then? Why the bombing of a Britannian school?' Zero asked, irritated.

"To gain attention for our cause. Will you join us, zero?" Kusakabe replied. Lelouch's eyes widened. Attention?

'Attention...you killed an innocent man for attention? You bombed a school full of children for...attention?' Zero asked his questions softly, still disbelieving.

"Of course!" Kusakabe replied, boasting. Lelouch was almost shaking in anger.

0.0.0

"That's enough!" Suzaku declared, now withing 200 feet of the cannon. It fired again. Suzaku raised his blaze luminous, now without the room to dodge. He knew it had taken the Chaos mine, but that had been with both shields and he'd nearly gotten Euphie killed. Had he even budged. This time, if he budged he'd be shredded.

The balls were deflected, the amount of metal in the air enough to make the green shimmer of the blaze luminous almost look like a solid glass shield between the two machines. As soon as the salvo was done, Suzaku switched to the VARIS rifle, turning the final safeties off.

"You people-"

0.0.0

'-are obsolete,' Zero declared. 'This childish terrorism and murdering civilians. There's no saving you!' Zero declared he stood straighter. His Geass was behind his left eye, burning with his rage. 'You, all of you...are nothing but leftover relics of an ancient past, clinging to old glories! You don't give a damn about creating a better world!'

Kusakabe seemed to absorb this quietly for a moment. Lelouch's rage didn't even notice. _You're all going to die,_ he declared. Kusakabe drew the sword at his side, dropping the sheath on the carpet. Lelouch knew what was coming.

"There's no point talking anymore!" Kusakabe roared, charging.

With a blink, Lelouch opened the slide mechanism. His eye glowed red with his Geass.

 _'Die.'_

0.0.0

Suzaku fired the VARIS the same time as the Raiko fired its last shot ever. The raiko cannon shell split apart almost as it left the barrel, filling the air with enough shrapnel to destroy bank vaults. The coil gun round sped at them with enough force to destroy a mountain.

The round VARIS round passed through the field of ball bearings unscathed. As the round passed through its residual magnetic field and the hydro-static shock following it dragged every scrap of metal behind it along with it. Then the round hit the Raiko.

The single round drilled through the cannon, through the back armor plating and shell magazine, and through the six feet of concrete to the foundation block. The rest of the metal trailing the round ripped the Raiko to pieces, destroying the weapon with its own projectiles.

Suzaku blasted the ground above his head, jumping the Lancelot from the underground tunnel as the building began to sink.

0.0.0

As the bodies fell, Lelouch switched targets instantly. He drew the pistol with his right hand and held it against Euphemia's head, the muzzle pressed into her forehead. She stared back at him, her eyes widening in sudden fear.

0.0.0

"We're all set," Kallen reported into the radio, pressing the button on the last charge. She gasped as the hotel was rocked. "What the hell was that?" She turned as Ohgi emerged into the hallway. "Are the hostages all safe?" Ohgi nodded.

"Everyone, time to get to boat!" Ohgi ordered.

"Zero, are you there? What's happening up there?" Kallen asked into the radio.

0.0.0

'Aren't you going to beg for your life?' Zero asked as he pressed the gun into Euphemia's brow. She swallowed, eying the gun nervously, then looked back at Lelouch with her sapphire eyes. Lelouch gritted his teeth at the blue eyes. Like a flood the old memories rushed back into Lelouch's mind. He blinked them away, focusing.

'I hear you're the new sub-viceroy, Princess Euphemia,' Lelouch commented, backing up. _Control,_ he reminded himself. 'Considering how low the previous standard was set, I'm sure you'll perform better. Clovis pleaded for his life with the same breath as ordering the slaughter of innocent people.'

"Is that why you killed my brother?" Euphemia asked, leaning forward.

'No,' Lelouch admitted, lowering the gun to his side. 'That's not the real reason. Clovis was the offspring of the Britannian emperor. Which reminds me,' Lelouch raised the gun again. 'I tried to ask Clovis a question about a matter you may be familiar with.' he opened the slide mechanism again.

 _'Now...tell me,'_ Lelouch commanded, ' _What do you know of the murder of Empress Marianne?'_

"What?" Euphemia asked, her eyes widening again in surprise. "Lady Marianne?" This time it was Lelouch's turn to register shock in his eyes. He focused, trying to use his Geass. He leaned in.

 _'Tell me what you know!'_ He roared angrily, waving his left arm. A sharp pain ripped his arm, the worst pain yet. Lelouch gave a pained shout and gripped his left elbow. He growled in pain, backing away.

"What's wrong?" Euphemia asked, stepping forward in concern.

'Get away!' he shouted angrily, shoving her away.

"Zero!" Kallen shouted, opening the door. She gasped at the scene before her and leveled her sub machine gun at Euphemia, her mask hiding her eyes and face. "Shall I dispose of her?" Euphemia looked from Zero to Kallen, uncertain.

'No,' Zero growled, still in pain. 'Put her on one of the life-rafts. We need to leave before this hotel collapses.' Lelouch grabbed the detonator remote and flipped the switch.

0.0.0

"You pulled a stitch," Kallen noted, peeking beneath the bandage. Lelouch hissed around his bunched up cape in his mouth. "We need to get you back to the doctor as fast as we can." She helped to put his sleeve back onto his left arm. She blushed slightly as she found herself examining his chest. She intentionally dragged the back of her fingers along his skin, brushing his nipple.

Lelouch inhaled, eying her with an irritated but quizzical eye. Kallen glanced away as Lelouch spit his cape from his mouth and zipped up his suit with his right hand, then started to massage his left.

"You seemed to enjoy that," Lelouch noted, still growling slightly. "I suppose it's fair payback for making you wear that purple outfit in shinjuku." Kallen winced at the memory.

"We need to get you medical attention. Looks like we can get out-" Kallen was advising.

"No!" Lelouch interrupted Kallen forcefully. "There's still one more thing we have to do."

0.0.0

The Next Day

0.0.0

Alice adjusted the phone against her ear, looking at the screen.

"Yes, my lord. She was sighted in the announcement by these so-called Black Knights, led by Zero. It seems logical to assume he has acquired a Geass power. It would explain the unusual behaviors of many of the military." She paused as the other person spoke.

"Yes sir, I'm sure it was priority target one. She was clearly in view. But given any current events we'll have difficulty locating her."

"Orders understood my lord. My Geass won't affect her though. It will be difficult for me to-" She frowned as the voice spoke again.

"Yes, my lord." she hung up the phone and looked at the screen again. It was zoomed in on C, standing behind Zero. She pressed play on the remote.

'We...are the Black Knights!'

0.0.0

"The doctor said strict bed rest until your arm has healed more!" Kallen reminded, angrily. Lelouch growled from his sitting position in his guest bed.

"Do I look like an invalid?" he growled. Kallen giggled despite herself, covering her face to hid her smile. Lelouch noticed and frowned even more, brow furrowing with frustration. She smiled even more, almost breaking into true laughter. Lelouch just kept his angry violet eyes aimed at her.

"This isn't amusing," he insisted. Kallen gave a tiny snort and held up a hand with her finger and thumb held close. A little funny. "No, not even a little." She began giggling again.

"Lelouch," Nunnally called, wheeling into the room. "Can you take your breakfast in bed by yourself?" Lelouch ground his teeth. Kallen's ribs began shaking.

"You're probably enjoying this too, aren't you?" He accused Nunnally.

"It is a nice change of pace," Nunnally giggled. Lelouch rolled his eyes and gave a deep, frustrated sigh.

'An in local news,' the television added in the background, largely ignored. 'A recent noble-woman, Lady Stradtfeld, was found in the Tokyo settlement running around nude and howling at the moon. Currently she is undergoing psychological testing and is expected to recover.'

0.0.0

A/N

Sigh...this took too damn long. I was tearing my hair out trying to write this freakin thing. And i reverted to fucking rapid cuts...sigh. One small step for this fanfiction, a giant leap backward for my writing...

For those interested, I was gonna keep Lelouch's arm injury as realistic as I could (having had a similiar cut thanks to glass. Seven stitches.) But yeah...them didn't hurt so more drama at the cost of reality.

ANSWERWING REWIEVS!

Neo-Bushido- It wasn't neccessarily rushed, more that I went insane on six Kickstarters and wrote furiously until I had the chapter, then I pressed save, and fell asleep. Somehow...I don't think I made any grammatical errors. Technically I try to write everything correctly, but I mix up my grammaticals to be interesting.

Eye of Sparta- T-rated lemons...no freakin' clue. Still thinkin on that one. Why did Euphemia not tell Cornelia about Lelouch...uhhhhhhhhhhhhh...like a good neighbor, chaos spawn is thbbbpththegaratgir...*breaks down under the influence of chaos* No idea yet. Dramatic tension is dramatic!

maesade, NPwall, and Natsirt 2610- Good keep reviewing! :D

To everyone else- Well you can just try harder next time eh?


	9. Chapter 9

**The Demon and Red Moon**

Disclaimer: The following is a non- _she gripped the back of his head, dragging him to her-_ the fuck? Is someone sex dreaming inside of the di- _k sliding-_ WHOA! Calm down you animals, this is still rated T!

Lelouch- well you're the one typing this story.

And you have to stay on focus if you wanna earn your weekly paycheck!

Kallen- dammit you let me finish of I'll shove your paychecks so far up your-

Yeah yeah. Code Geass is owned bu Sunrise. Please support the official...sigh...release.

Kallen- YES!

You wound up seriously frustrated at the end of the Black Knight, didn't you?

Please note that this writer is not responsible for thrown laptops. Why would you you ask?

…

No reason.

To the answering of the reviews. (not in any particular order of address, mostly because I don't have the internet right now and I'm lazy.

Lelouch's Geass failed because...of something. Geass is still fairly unknown to us, even with my rules for it. Was it because he wasn't feeling particularly sad, angry, vengeful, unhappy? Could be. Could it be his injury? Could be. But the most important reason, above all...is dramatic tension. But to the negative emotions thing...I actually personally think that not only is Geass fueled by negative emotions in its bearer, but also it works by negative emotions in its target as well. That could help explain why Euphemia and Nunnally were able to resist for longer in the original series. It took a while for the Geass to find a foothold to affect them. Wheras Suzaku is literally buried in personal guilt and shame for his actions and his Geass command not only activates at will, but remains strongly effective. And might explain why Geass manifests in people the way it does. Lelouch feels powerless and is angry about that. His Geass manifests as the ultimate power over others. Mao is desperate perhaps to understand why people shun and fear him? His Geass provides understanding. C2 was lonely and depressed at being unloved. Yadayada. Ironically though in every case, their Geass have opposite effects. Lelouch rapidly gains power over others but loses it to his own megalomania and Geass's very existence. Mao was corrupted into shunning people on his own, rather than reaching understanding. C2's Geass made her even lonelier as she was unable to distinguish between genuine love and the effect of her Geass. Which if R2 didn't completely SUCK could've raised interesting ideas about Marianne's and Rolo's but nooooo we just had to have those fucking throwaway Knights of the Round, DIDN'T WE?! I'm not bitter. The Knight of One was a bad boss battle. Dammit, now I have to psychoanalyze Marianne. Marianne's Geass is the power to effectively (Indian accent) become another person! (end accent) This raises an interesting envy complex. So I guess Marianne wanted to (Indian accent) become another person! (end) Which raises even more questions about she being who we think she was. Perhaps she wasn't even the original Marianne? Maybe she was much more like Nina to begin with, got her Geass from C, then (Indian) became another person! (end) Your mind is now blown. NEXT!

That chapter wasn't that good. NEXT!

DAMN TYPOS! NEXT!

Yeah, Euphemia might tell Cornelia. Except in Island of the Gods, when Lelouch asks Euphemia this very question. "My sister doesn't listen to me." Or think to give a bullet proof vest, it seems. Oh that was too soon. That was too soon right? When will it not be too soon? Next millennium? Okay. NEXT!

Oh, that's it. Uhhhhhh...END!

Spinzaku Kururugi Fact #21 Spinzaku Kururugi was the first champion of the human beyblade competition. Ironically many of his opponents now regret the opening words of 'Let it Rip!' Because they now have parts that certainly did rip.

See how many layers I did with this title?

 **Turn 9- The Ghost of Christmas Past**

Kallen turned over in the golden morning light and smiled at the dark-eyed face of Lelouch vi Britannia. She drew the covers to cover her disrobed body, then brought up a hand to gently run her fingers along his healed brow, the cut by now just a pale line of a scar splitting his eyebrow. She ran her finger down from the prince's brow down the side of his neck, feeling his pulse quicken slightly before she ran it down his bare chest. Lelouch smirked with amusement and brought his own hand up to finger a few strands of her crimson hair from her sapphire eyes.

The light made their eyes glow as they came closer. Kallen exhaled slightly as their lips brushed against each other. Another of Lelouch's hands began to brush her chest as he lowered the other one down beneath the sheets, past her belly.

0.:(.0

Kallen jolted awake, sitting up in the cool blue moonlight. Every inch of her body was awake from her dream, and she exhaled in frustration as she realized that she'd woken up. Her tee-cut pajama shirt and short shorts felt sweltering in her current condition. She threw off her covers, letting her sweaty skin feel the refreshing colder air.

She sighed and fell backwards, collapsing into her bed. She frowned as she remembered the subject of her dream. She glanced at the door, suddenly nervous. If the door hadn't been locked he could've come in her room anytime. Her heart twisted as she realized...

Dammit, she wished he would try something. And she wished she didn't wish that.

She rolled over onto her side, and took a slow, deep breath. As she closed her eyes she tried to calm her heartbeat, ignoring her frustration. And groaned from total failure. She cracked her eyes open, sinking down into her mattress. She ran her empty hands over the massive empty space next to her.

Lelouch blinked his eyes open as he heard the door click and swing open. He couldn't see in the darkness with the curtains drawn over the windows. He closed his eyes and looked away slightly, faking sleep. His right arm was already perpendicular to his side. And his left eye was uncovered and ready to bring to bear.

One eye blinked open as a light body set down on the bed and curled up against him, a head on his shoulder. A hand was curled up in a light fist on his chest.

"What the-?" he murmured, raising his head lightly.

"Go back to sleep," Kallen whispered against his shoulder. Lelouch angled his head, surprised. Then he gave a slight grin and lowered his head back down.

"You really are a spitfire, aren't you Kallen?" he muttered to the girl.

"Shut up, Lelouch," the resistance fighter growled against his shoulder. "I just don't want to sleep alone. So go back to sleep." Lelouch absorbed this with a thoughtful sound. Then he looked the other way and brought his right arm around her shoulders. She exhaled into his shoulder and melted against him. His heartbeat slowly lulled her into oblivion.

0.0.0

Suzaku was smiling as he walked from Asheford. Rivalz has asked him to help Lelouch now that the former prince was able to return to school. Milly had planned a special event for Lelouch's triumphant return to school since the bombing a few weeks back.

He hummed to himself as he rang the doorbell. Kallen's mother opened the door, sweating and panting. Suzaku ceased his humming and his brow furrowed at the maid's appearance. Was she ill? She glanced away from him and opened the door. Suzaku warily walked past her, concerned.

"Are you alright ma'am?" he finally asked, uncertain of himself. He glanced at her hands to see they were shaking. She was almost shivering as she closed the door.

"I've got a flu," she said, almost sobbing.

"Mr. Kururugi," Sayoko greeted, making Suzaku spin around. He smiled in recognition.

"Oh, Ms. Sayoko," he greeted. He glanced nervously behind him but chose not to say anything. "I've come to help Lelouch out with getting ready for school. Is he awake yet? I might be a little too early. Military discipline I guess." He cupped the back of his head, chuckling sheepishly.

"I haven't seen whether Lelouch is awake yet. I've had to help Nunnally." Sayoko began to head up the stairs as she finished speaking. Suzaku followed Sayoko closely. He glanced over his shoulder to check on Kallen's mother. He blinked as he saw that she had disappeared. He frowned and kept going up the stairs.

"Here's Lelouch's guest room," Sayoko announced, opening the door. She walked in and stopped. Suzaku followed and recoiled, surprised.

Kallen was wrapped around Lelouch like a twisted blanket. Her legs were curled around his waist, her arms around his neck and shoulders. Lelouch's own arms were around her. Her face was pressed against his cheek and neck, her lips almost touching his throat. The fact that they were still clothed was the only thing that convinced Suzaku they weren't making love. Suzaku blushed and looked away, feeling as though he was watching something private.

"Uh, master Lelouch?" Sayoko said aloud, stepping over to the side of the bed. "Mistress Kallen?" Sayoko glanced at the ceiling, nervously and then bent down to gently shake Lelouch's shoulder. Kallen's eyes opened slowly and she looked around, sleepily. Then she saw Sayoko and her eyes shot wide.

"Nothing happened!" she shouted, rolling away. She gave an 'oof' as she fell of the bed, landing on the floor. She quickly climbed back to her feet and went to leave the room, before she saw Suzaku and froze. She gave a tortured squeal and blushed. "You saw nothing!" she shouted, jabbing a finger in Suzaku's face, angrily, before leaving the room.

Lelouch blinked as the door was slammed shut by Kallen behind her. The black-haired prince found himself smirking. She never let her tough exterior crack for a second, did she? He sat up and saw Suzaku looking from the door to Lelouch and back.

"She's right, nothing happened, Suzaku," Lelouch insisted, his brow crunching in irritation. "What kind of guy do you think I am that I would take advantage of young ladies?"

I wish you would, Kallen thought, her ear pressed against the wall of bedroom, listening to the conversation. She blinked and removed her ear from the wall, then gave a groan and stomped her bare foot on the carpet.

"Why do I even care!?" she shouted, balling her hands to fist by her sides. Because he was handsome? Because he took her breath away? Because she'd be willing to follow him all the way to Imperial Capitol? She shook her head and headed to her shower, unbuttoning her top. She might need a cold shower this morning.

0.0.0

"Dammit, Suzaku, cut it out!" Lelouch ordered, trying to shove Suzaku off of him. This was the last straw. They could treat him like he was crippled, confine him to a bed, force breakfast in bed on him. But not taking help in showering himself. He was officially and finally done.

"Sorry, Lelouch," Suzaku replied sheepishly. He offered the sud-filled sponge to Lelouch, who gritted his teeth and took it with his right hand. He couldn't get his stitches or his wound wet on his left arm. He sighed that the stitches in his left brow had been removed, leaving a barely-visible scar. But his eyebrow had remained split.

He removed the excess water from the sponge and began to run it along his left arm, keeping a watchful eye on Suzaku. When he finished washing his arm he handed the sponge back.

"Now please get out," Lelouch growled at Suzaku, raising his right eyebrow.

"I would but you still haven't cleaned the rest of your-" Suzaku replied, bending over to apply the sponge below Lelouch's waist somewhere.

"No! No I think I can do that myself," Lelouch shouted, jumping back in his bathing shorts. "Seriously, get out Suzaku, I swear I will kill you." Suzaku chuckled as he backed up, holding his hands out.

"Would you prefer if I got Kallen to help you?" he joked. Lelouch gritted his teeth, suddenly angry. The mention of Kallen made the prince want to strike the other boy.

"Don't joke about that," he warned, eyes narrowed. Suzaku gave a chuckle and lowered his hands. "We didn't do anything, for the last time. She didn't even tell me why she wanted to come into my room. And you're also accusing my honor."

"I was just surprised. I never expected you to allow some girl to get this close to you," Suzaku admitted. Some girl? Lelouch lashed out with his fist, suddenly. Suzaku's eyes widened and he rocked back and caught the arm by the wrist. Lelouch gritted his teeth. "Sorry, reflex," Suzaku said, looking apologetic. He let go of Lelouch's wrist. Lelouch stepped past him out of the shower.

"Lelouch," Suzaku commented, concerned, "this isn't really like you to get violent like that over a few jokes and comments." Lelouch ignored him, toweling off his raven hair. "Frankly that's more what I used to do when we first met." Lelouch froze as the words struck him. He let the towel fall like a hood over his head.

"What are you suggesting, Suzaku?" The honorary Britannian frowned at first, thinking. Lelouch turned his head just enough to see Suzaku's expression as he thought.

"You definitely seem more attached to Kallen than even you realize," Suzaku finally decided, looking at the exiled prince. "In fact, I haven't seen you this attached to someone except Nunnally." Lelouch's eyes were wide at the idea.

"But we're challenging each other all the time," Lelouch replied, disbelieving. "She doesn't open up at all. Believe me, I can't get her to. She doesn't like talking about herself."

"Sounds familiar." The prince blinked at the two words. "Challenging? Doesn't open up? Quiet? I think you were almost describing yourself." Suzaku watched the prince's back as he smirked, knowingly. Then he blinked when he heard a laugh. Lelouch practically shook as he suddenly began laughing, almost bending over. Lelouch spun, his purple eyes alight with humor.

"Suzaku, you might not be that smart but you may be the wisest of all," Lelouch declared, pulling the towel off over his head. "Come on, let's get dressed. Lelouch Lamperouge has a school life to return to." Suzaku smiled and nodded.

0.0.0

"Crap!" Kallen exclaimed, looking at her watch. She grabbed her bag and bolted out the door, still tightening her tie around her neck. "Suzaku, Lelouch! We're gonna be late for school!" she shouted Lelouch's door while she jogged through the hallway. She stopped when she rounded the corner and saw her father.

"Kallen," he greeted, smiling warmly. "I'd be happy to drive you three to school, go ahead and get your friends, I'll be by the car." Kallen smiled and nodded, walking back to Lelouch's guest room.

Lelouch wound up sitting in the passenger side front seat, sitting beside Kallen's father as he drove the large black car. He stopped by the front doors. Lelouch was about to pull the handle before Kallen's father spoke up.

"Kallen? Would you mind if Lelouch and I spoke for a few minutes?" Lelouch froze, alarms raising in his mind. Had he heard about he and Kallen sleeping together? Kallen climbed from the car and walked inside, glancing over her shoulder nervously at Lelouch. Lelouch frowned and broke eye contact with her, looking back at her father. "How have you liked your accommodations so far Lelouch?"

"They're excellent, sir," Lelouch replied, smiling a friendly smile. What are you thinking?

"You see, Lelouch," he began, shutting off the engine. "In a few days I'll be going to the homeland on some unavoidable business. I asked because you'll be alone with my daughter a week while I'm gone and I wanted to make sure you wouldn't be uncomfortable. After all I was almost certain you'd had better conditions." Lelouch was frozen. Kallen's father eyed him, his normally friendly eyes narrowing with thought.

"Lelouch vi Britannia." Lelouch's eyes went even wider. Dammit, if he means to use me to further himself, I might have to use my Geass. But that could mean alienating Kallen! If she grows to hate me, she might tell the Black Knights about Zero! But if I don't, he might reveal that I'm alive to the Emperor!

"What do you plan to do with that information?" Lelouch asked, eyes narrowing at Kallen's father, cautious.

"My motives aren't entirely selfless, Lelouch," the nobleman replied. "Finding not one, but two, outcast but alive Imperial children, not only alive, but homeless and under my protection."

"Leave Nunnally out of this!" Lelouch suddenly replied, angrily. "She's suffered enough at the hands of the Royal Family!" Kallen's father almost recoiled at Lelouch's shouted words.

"Yes," he admitted. "I agree with you. I wasn't important back when I heard about the Lady Marianne's death. Personally I was certain it was an agenda by one of the Imperial Family. As was the Emperor's exile of you and Nunnally to Japan."

"Then what do you want?" Lelouch asked, furious.

"I want us to help each other, Lelouch," the nobleman replied, surprising Lelouch. "My daughter Kallen will bring in a new era for the Stradtfeld family when she's married a Britannian noble with high-standing. You could possibly ascend the throne of Britannia if you had sufficient resources. I could provide those resources if we were allied."

"So you offer your own daughter of a golden platter to a man who would be king," Lelouch realized, eyes narrowing with disgust and distrust. "I was sent into exile. And I'm eleventh in line to the throne that I withdrew any claim to."

"Tenth, now. And we both know the Imperial Family would still consider you a legitimate claimant were Charles zi Britannia to die. It's not hard to make 9 people disappear when you need to." Lelouch's eyes widened at the very idea. He'd made a vow to destroy Britannia. But the idea of instead taking control of it, not as Zero, but as he was now. With enough power and resources. With Kallen at his side.

"So you want your daughter to sit beside the most powerful man in the world," Lelouch deduced, leaning away from the nobleman.

"I want her to continue a fine legacy of a noble house," the lord replied. The prince frowned in thought. "I'll let you think about it, Lelouch. In the meantime I have other business to attend to. I can promise I'll keep your secret. Until-" he looked away smirking to himself, "at least until I determine you're worth nothing to my cause."

"I understand," Lelouch replied, looking away. He opened the car door and stood from the vehicle. He frowned the entire way to his homeroom class, and sat down without comment. Suzaku narrowed his eyes in concern as Lelouch was thinking, his eyes downcast.

"Something wrong, Lelouch?" Suzaku whispered, leaning over enough for Lelouch to hear. Lelouch frowned, but eyed Suzaku.

"Just thinking. That someday I might have to buy back my soul."

0.0.0

"Yes, that's right," Diethard commented from behind his desk as he emptied the drawers. He sat up straight and looked back at Villeta Nu and Jeremiah Gottwald. "I was relieved of my position after the hotel jacking. Very much in the same that you were, Sir Gottwald." Gottwald stiffened at the remark, his anger building.

"We have no intention of letting our careers end this way," Villeta insisted, facing Diethard straight on. Diethard analyzed her. She wasn't especially young not middle-aged. She seemed prideful but eager. An ambitious young lady. Diethard internally sighed. Yet another boring easy story, the same as most people. "We believe we may have a clue as to Zero's identity."

"Oh?" Diethard replied, his attention captured suddenly. He didn't give anything away, bending over to collect more of his things.

"In Shinjuku before my Knightmare was stolen I saw a young couple in a warehouse. I believe one of them may be Zero," Villeta concluded. "We don't have time to investigate however. The majority of the Britannian forces are moving to Narita in a few days time."

"Isn't Narita the supposed headquarters of the Japan Liberation Front?" Diethard commented nonchalantly, setting one of his folders in the cardboard box on his desk. Jeremiah eyed Diethard.

"You may be a little too smart for your own good," Jeremiah concluded. Diethard smirked despite himself.

"Yes, well," the reporter replied, playing it off. "A good reporter earns his living by learning things. I'm sure you understand. I certainly will look into this young couple, but it may take some time before I have anything. All records from Shinjuku have been sealed by order of Princess Cornelia."

"We know," Villeta admitted, disappointed. "And we pure-bloods don't have enough influence to reach those records. But a reporter would certainly know ways of getting to those records, wouldn't he?" Villeta narrowed her eyes, focusing on Diethard's expression.

"I may," he finally admitted, smirking. "In the meantime, I do have to finish packing. But I will call you should any information turn up." Villeta nodded and turned to Jeremiah. He sighed and left, the dark-skinned knight following behind him.

Now alone, Diethard kept packing calmly and slowly. He almost laughed openly as he left the office behind for the last time. Good bye, mediocrity. The reporter dropped his box in the back of his small car and got in the driver's seat, starting up the electric motor. He didn't bother listening to the radio as he drove down outside of the settlement. No one even stopped him, or even looked twice.

As he stopped outside a demolished building he glanced around at the people. He shut off the engine and set his keys inside his coat pocket. As Diethard left the car elevens were already warily watching him. A Britannian in the ghetto wasn't a good thing all the time. Diethard surveyed the elevens carefully. Finally he selected a small group, all of them wearing red headbands. That had to mean something.

We was nervous walking up to the group. He'd brought a pistol just in case. But he couldn't be sure that he wouldn't simply be robbed. But one had to take risks every now and then.

"Excuse me," he said aloud. The leader of the men in red headbands, a thin man with a purple shirt and black jeans, stood. Diethard didn't find him intimidating. "I happen to be looking for someone. I was wondering if you could lead me to someone I could talk to about joining the Black Knights."

0.0.0

"All right, everybody!" Milly wrapped a bandage around her hair and forehead, tying it and then striking a pose. "Time to officially welcome back our student council vice president!" A pair a spotlights suddenly scanned across the room wildly before setting on Lelouch. Whom promply covered his purple eyes from the glare of the spotlight. The lamps cut out just as Milly through her arm around the black-haired outcast.

"What do you think of your party, Lelouch?" She asked, smiling wide.

"This is in entirely terrible taste," Lelouch declared softly, glancing over the attendants. Everyone was wearing some kind of bandage, except for Lelouch, who'd no longer needed the one around his own forehead since his eyebrow had healed, and his jacket covered the other one.

"Oh come on, Lelouch," Milly chided enthusiastically. "Come on and have some A Negative Tomato soup. Just like your blood type!" Milly walked off to mingle with her student body. Lelouch grimaced, then his eyes went wide with alarm.

"How did you know my blood type was A negative?!" he accused suddenly after Milly's retreating blonde head.

"She passed off some colored corn startch as yours to sell to all your fangirls for a dollar a pop," Rivalz answered cheerfully. Lelouch's brow rose in alarm and horror at his friend's blatant lack of concern. "Speaking of fangirls, you're new scar makes you look rather like a bad boy, Lelouch! How will the ladies ever resist you again, riiiiight?" Lelouch leaned away as Rivalz spoke, leaning into Lelouch, raising a joking eyebrow.

"I'm getting worried about you," Lelouch muttered, eyes narrowing at his friend. Rivalz threw his arm around Lelouch's shoulder, dragging him along the crowded room.

"Come on, buddy," Rivalz said as he dragged Lelouch. "Wanna see how many fan-girls we can make cry with heartbreak?"

"Not really," Lelouch replied, uninterested. He looked around over Rivalz's head to try to catch a glimpse of red hair. "Hey Rivalz, have you seen Kallen?" They started walking up the stairs.

"Na," Rivalz replied, "Not yet." His eyes widened as he thought of something. "Wait, buddy, you mean you've actually developed human feelings for a girl? And just one girl? I'm kind of in shock."

"Don't make it sound so weird," Lelouch replied, disdainfully. He looked up as they reached the top of the stairs and he smiled when he saw Kallen. She smiled and waved. Lelouch blinked as he heard a crash behind him and spun to look. His eyes went wide, in horror.

Rivalz saw his expression first and his brow furrowed with confusion. Then he looked and was still more confused. Shirley had just fallen over, spilling some tomato soup over herself and another girl who was pinned beneath her. They were already getting up, trying to wipe off the soup. Everybody was laughing. Rivalz looked back up to Lelouch. His expression was still in horror.

Nunnally was pinned beneath mother's body. Lelouch's body was twitching at the sight, his eyes so wide they felt like they would pop from his skull. Blood was pouring from mother's body in half a dozen places. No one was helping them.

"Help them!" he pleaded, unable to look away. "Help mother, help Nunnally!" Rivalz blinked, alarmed. He shook Lelouch's shoulder. "Don't touch me, someone help them!" his shouting had made everyone stop.

"Lelouch!" Kallen shouted, concerned. Lelouch looked to see her. He blinked. Kallen wasn't there. He didn't understand, his brow furrowing. He looked back to where mother and Nunnally were laying. Shirley was looking at him, tomato soup on her shirt and the steps. Lelouch's eyes widened. He backed away. Nobody stopped him, still staring at Shirley. Then he turned and ran.

"Lelouch!" Kallen called after him, chasing him. Suzaku watched the whole exchange, frowning deeply. He looked down at the bowl of tomato soup in his hands. He closed his eyes.

"Bad choice," Milly commented, sad realization coming through her voice. Suzaku looked at her sadly. She looked back. "I'm sorry, I didn't stop to think about the-"

"Don't apologize to me," Suzaku corrected softly. "Lelouch is the one you probably need to apologize to." He looked back to where everyone was looking nervously amongst themselves. Shirley was pulling off her jacket and tie to get most of the hot red soup off of her. "Just not right now. Give him a few days."

0.0.0

"Lelouch?" Kallen asked, walking into the destroyed room. She'd followed Lelouch here. She saw him sitting against the wall, his knees drawn up. She frowned and closed the door, then walked over. "Are you okay?" She slapped herself for saying it, but she couldn't think of anything else to say.

"I couldn't stay in there. And I can't go back in there to face them yet," Lelouch whispered behind his arms. His purple eyes were narrowed in pain behind them as he hugged his legs. "The soup, it reminded me..." he trailed off. "Like it was when I saw...when mother and Nunnally were..." His voice had cracked and he lowered his forehead to his arms. Kallen glanced at the door, nervous. Then she sat down beside him, laying her head on his shoulder, not speaking. Lelouch was shaking.

"All these years," Lelouch added, sobbing, "all these years I had to be strong...for Nunnally. And since the bombing the way you all treated me..." he trailed off as he gave a mournful sob. "I had to be strong for Nunnally, but I couldn't...I couldn't..."

Kallen winced. The way that Lelouch had to have been treated after the bombing and the stitches. It had been his turn to be cared for, and Lelouch felt powerless. In a way Lelouch had always felt powerless since his mother's death. If Lelouch had thought about that might have been why his Geass manifested the way it did. She placed a hand on his arm. As it happened it was his left arm. Lelouch's shaking settled somewhat at the contact.

"Do you want to tell me about it?" Kallen offered, softly.

"No," Lelouch immediately replied, still sobbing. Kallen glanced away, hurt but understanding. She turned her head back in surprise as Lelouch began speaking again. "We were in the Imperial Palace. I can never remember why. I saw the glass windows break, the sound of firecrackers, the flashes on the chandelier. And then when I looked I saw them, my mother and Nunnally. And I just remember screaming. The screaming was me."

'Lelouch?' came Euphemia's voice through the door. Kallen winced and looked at Lelouch.

"Can I call them in?" She softly asked in Lelouch's ear. He nodded, not speaking. "Come in," she added loudly. Euphemia opened the door, Rivalz and Milly standing behind her. Euphemia glanced behind her and then turned to face them.

"Can I have a minute alone with my cousin?" she asked Rivalz and Milly. Then she closed the door. She turned back to Lelouch and Kallen. "Lelouch, what was it? Did something happen?" She knelt to face Lelouch. He didn't look at her.

 _What was it? Did something happen?_

"You know what happened!" Lelouch suddenly raged, making Kallen and Euphemia jump to their feet. "You know what happened, but you won't tell me! You all lie through your smiles, pretending I'm just a child! But you...you people killed my mother dammit! But you won't tell me! You lie straight to my face! Go away! I'm sick of you acting like you know me! Where were you when we were sent away to Japan! WHERE WERE YOU THEN?!" Euphemia backed away, her eyes wide and hurt. Then she turned and opened the door and ran away, tears beginning to form in her eyes. Milly and Rivalz chased after her, concerned and confused.

"WHERE WERE YOU THEN!" Lelouch shouted after her. He collapsed again, the tears streaming down his face. Kallen knelt beside him again. He fell into her, his head landing sideways against her chest, sobbing weakly. He inhaled and his breathing calmed. "I'll kill them," he whispered, a silent vow. "I'll kill them all."

0.0.0

Euphemia burst into Cornelia's office, interrupting a strategy meaning. Cornelia stood angrily.

"Sub-viceroy, what is the meaning of this?" she growled angrily. Guilford and Dalton were still seated, surprised.

"I want you to tell me!" Euphemia shouted. Cornelia blinked, confused. "About Lady Marianne. I want you to tell me everything you know. Sister, please. I need to know." Cornelia winced, closing her eyes against the pain of the memory.

"My lady," Guilford began, cautiously.

"Please," Cornelia said, opening her eyes. "Guilford, Dalton, could you please leave us? We'll continue in a moment. This is an important matter." Guilford and Dalton stood.

"Of course, your highness," Guilford said, smiling. Dalton and he bowed and left the room.

"Thank you," Euphemia said, holding out her hands to Guilford. Guilford nodded his head and gave her an understanding smile. Dalton was smirking the whole time, his eyes knowing. The doors were closed behind them as they left.

"Sit down," Cornelia said, gesturing. When Euphemia sat down beside Cornelia, the older princess sat as well, pulling her chair back forward. "Very well," she began. "I'll tell you."

0.0.0

Alice blinked as she tugged the origami crane into its final shape. She blinked at the pink paper bird in her hand. Something so mundane as paper and she'd used it to create something. She held it out to Nunnally with a giggle. Nunnally felt the bird with both hands. Then she smiled.

"You did it great, Alice," Nunnally declared, smiling. "They say if you fold a thousand of these, your wish will come true! I told this to my big brother too, when we were having dinner a few weeks ago. I guess we'll both have to work on a thousand cranes now."

"But," Alice replied, uncertain. "I don't know what to wish for." She'd never been told about wishes or folding paper in the Geass Order. She blinked and looked up at the blind girl. "What did you wish for, Nunnally?"

"I wished for a kinder, gentler world," Nunnally said, smiling kindly. "Maybe we could wish for that together?" Alice absorbed this and smiled.

"Yes, I'll wish for that too, Nunnally!" Alice confirmed, happily. Nunnally hummed an affirmative and held out a fist with her pinky finger extended. Alice blinked, making an uncertain noise.

"It's a pinky swear," Nunnally explained. "If we wrap our pinky fingers together and sing the song, then we have to keep the promise to each other!" Alice wrapped her pinky around Nunnally's uncertain. "Cross my heart, hope to die, eat a thousand needles if I lie," Nunnally sang. She shook her hand and giggled. "There, now we're officially in a pinky swear together. You and me. Oh, and my big brother, but we don't need to tell him." Nunnally giggled. Alice smiled and found herself giggling along with the blind girl.

"Yes, I promise I will make a better world for you, Nunnally," the young knight promised.


	10. Chapter 10

**The Demon and the Red Moon**

 _Disclaimer: Santa- Hohoho Merry Christmas! Here comes Santa to give you a brand new chapter!_

 _Lelouch- Actually we're not allowed to give ownership of anything away as we're a non-profit so we can dodge being sued._

 _Santa- Oh, well, what can we give away._

 _Lelouch- Lelouch vi Britannia Commands you, Kill Charles zi Britannia!_

 _Santa- Gah! You bad child Lelouch!_

 _(Lelouch gets buried in coal)_

 **Chapter Mother's Memory**

Lelouch set down a box of belongings in the newly-repaired apartment. He took a sniff and winced and looked over his shoulder at Nunnally. She rolled further in, a box of framed pictures in her lap. She paused, her brow furrowing, and took a sniff herself.

"This is gonna take a while for it to smell like home again," she noted sorrowfully. Lelouch gave a sad smile to himself and began to sort through the belongings. "Does it look better at least?" Lelouch gave a thoughtful noise and glanced at the windows. The wooden frames around them looked different.

"It's not perfect," he commented finally, charitably. "But it's still the best we can do." He got an idea and spun around with a smile. "If we get some paint you could help me make it look better later Nunnally." Nunnally giggled at the notion.

"Still," Sayoko added helpfully, carrying in a box of clothes, "It will feel good to be home again, right Master Lelouch?" Lelouch smiled at the maid.

"You're right Sayoko," Lelouch took the box of clothes from Sayoko and carried them to his room. C was already lounging about nearly naked on his bed.

"Lelouch," C noted, her voice sounding...vigorous, "I've been waiting for you to come." Lelouch's spine went rigid and he raised an eyebrow.

"Excuse you?" He replied in a rude monotone. C sighed and rolled over on his bed, moving her exposed body in a way that left very little to any human's imagination. Lelouch rolled his eyes and glared into the ceiling, irritated. _If there is a God,_ Lelouch thought to himself wearily, _I might enjoy an eternity in Hell after putting up with this woman for a month. And while's he at it, send help immediately lest my sanity finally break and I put a gun in my mouth, and then hers._

"Lelouch, what are you thinking about?" C suddenly asked, suspiciously. Lelouch took a second to reply, still staring at the ceiling.

"Guess." He did not move at all.

"Give me a hint," she demanded suddenly.

"It involves getting rid of you," Lelouch finally decided.

"Girls?" Lelouch looked down at that answer, giving her the evil eye.

"Homicide."

"I'll come back," C advised, teasingly.

"It'd be a nice few hours." He dropped the box on top of her and left the room. C pushed the box off of her onto the floor. The motion removed one of the straps holding her scant clothing together and left her completely topless on his bed. Lelouch re-entered the room carrying another box of clothing and froze at the sight. C just met his gaze, not moving.

Lelouch eyed the ceiling again.

 _We don't have time for a bullet, send a bomb-_

0.0.0

"Bomb disposal team?" Euphemia stared incredulously as Cornelia nodded. "Don't you think you're going a little overboard, sister?" Cornelia smiled a little but leaned back in the back of the limo as the pair drove to Asheford Academy.

"Since you've insisted on continuing to go to school here I'm taking a few extra precautions," Cornelia explained, dutifully. "Zero was clearly interested in killing you from what you told me, so I don't want you taking any chances, Euphie. Luckily that Eleven pilot that took out the linear cannon also goes to school here. And it seems you've taken a liking to him."

Cornelia's eyes rolled to look at Euphemia just in time to see Euphie's pale cheeks blush bright red. Cornelia chuckled at her sister's embarrassment and scooted over and leaned over to sit closer to her little sister.

"Don't be embarrassed by the thought, Euphie," Cornelia commented, voice low. "It's only natural for women like us to be attracted to stronger men. Even I've been attracted to men below me." Euphie gave Cornelia a mortified shy look, clearly not wanting to speak of that.

"But I warn you, Euphemia," Cornelia added, joylessly, "that can't end well, Euphie. He's still only and honorary Britannian, and you're a member of the royal family. So try not to get attached." The last sentence was a desperate plea to Euphemia. The car came to a stop. Euphemia looked out the window and saw her destination and began to get out.

"One last thing," Cornelia mentioned. She pulled a cell phone from her pocket and offered it to her younger sister. Euphie took it and looked back up to Cornelia. "If you think you see anyone related to Zero, call me and I'll be there as quickly as I can."

"Zero," Euphie repeated, looking back down at the phone. She paused for a second, remembering.

0.0.0

 _'You people are obsolete,' Zero declared. 'This childish terrorism and murdering civilians. There's no saving you!' Zero declared he stood straighter. His Geass was behind his left eye, burning with his rage. 'You, all of you...are nothing but leftover relics of an ancient past, clinging to old glories! You don't give a damn about creating a better world!'_

 _Euphemia's eyes widened at the proclamation. It was surreal how much Zero sounded like Cornelia, but the words made her stop. Zero wanted to create a better world._

0.0.0

Euphemia got out of the car and began to walk to her class. Milly walked up to walk side by side with Euphemia, hands behind her back with a confident smile on her heart-shaped face, chin up. Euphemia didn't notice, still thinking about Zero and Suzaku.

"Nice to see you today, your highness," Milly said politely.

"Hello, Milly," Euphemia said kindly, not paying attention. Then she stopped, looking up with her eyes going wide. She spun to face Milly, desperation in her face. "Oh please don't tell anyone else!" the pink-haired girl almost shouted to Milly. "I'm supposed to be undercover since I'm going to a semi-private academy! Please if anyone found out I'd have to find another place to go to school."

"Don't worry," Milly said, smiling at Euphie. "I already explained it to Shirley and Nina. I already knew Lelouch and Nunna were royalty, after all. I know I'm blonde, but I'm not that blonde." The princess let out a relieved sigh. "But," Milly added, making Euphie nervous again, "I do want to ask why you wanted to go to this school." Euphemia blushed and leaned in.

"There's someone here I want to get to know better," the Princess admitted, softly. Milly's eyebrows perked up at the promise of new gossip. Euphemia smiled as she continued. "I want to learn how he's so strong. And he's sweet and brave and stupid. But I can't help but want to know everything about him."

0.0.0

"Atchoo!" Suzaku dropped one corner of the bed sheet and rubbed his nose with the back of his sleeve. Nunnally looked concerned from the side of her bed.

"Getting a cold Suzaku?" she asked aloud.

"Just allergies," Suzaku replied, still rubbing his nose.

"And now we have to clean these sheets again," Lelouch replied from the opposite side of the bed.

0.0.0

Kallen stalked into her homeroom and walked straight into the back of the room. Leaning against the wall she crossed her arms and glared out the plastic bag covering the broken window. Lelouch noticed and continued reading his book.

"Something troubling?" Lelouch inquired, seeming uninterested. Kallen frowned and eyed into the corner of the room, away from Lelouch.

"My mother is being very irritating." Lelouch paused at Kallen's comment while turning the page. "The maid, not my stepmother," she added in a lower tone. "She's breaking things constantly this week." Lelouch finished turning the page.

"Is it not accidental?" Lelouch had stopped reading but didn't want to appear that way. "She doesn't seem like she'd break things just to spite you."

"The fact that she's even staying in the same house is annoying. She's only staying around because she doesn't have any skills and she knows my father." Lelouch narrowed his eyes in Kallen's direction as she spoke. "I wish she'd just leave."

"You don't want your mother around?" Lelouch confirmed, carefully turning a page in his book.

"Not at all," Kallen confirmed. "She could find a job if she wanted. She's just clinging to an old lover. She's just depressing." Lelouch snapped the book closed and stood.

"I want a hot dog," Lelouch declared suddenly. He turned and looked at Kallen. "Come with me."

0.0.0

Shirley gave a desperate growling sigh as she ran around the campus looking for Lelouch. She needed to ask him about Euphemia. Shirley already had a suspicion about the answer, and it worried her. Euphemia was actually a princess. If she and Lelouch were really related then that meant...

Shirley desperately picked up her pace as she passed his homeroom for the fourth time, not seeing him. Lelouch was a prince. But if he was a prince she didn't stand a chance of being with him. There was no way the Emperor of Britannia would possibly allow her to marry Lelouch. Despair was building in her with each running step. She ran outside, looking around the massive outdoor campus. Lelouch could be anywhere, but she couldn't find him.

"My, isn't Lulu just impossible to keep track of?" came an odd-accented voice. Shirley spun to look at the source of the voice. A silver-haired man in sunglasses and a white trench coat walked out from behind a tree. "Tell me, Shirley, do you want Lelouch all to yourself? You do love him after all." Shirley recoiled, eyes going wide. How did?

"I know everything, Shirley," he said before she could speak. "Because I've got super powers. Lelouch has something that I want. Why don't we help each other get what we want?" Shirley absorbed this as the man walked right up to her and leaned down to look her in the eyes.

"Interested?" he hissed, lowering his sunglasses to reveal a pair of glowing red eyes.

0.0.0

Lelouch led Kallen to the plaza with the hot dog stand. The guy running it was dressed in a yellow overall and was clearly Japanese. Kallen blinked and looked around, not understanding. The eleven was serving a large group of young Britannians dressed in blue jeans with loose shirts.

"Hey!" one of them suddenly shouted, throwing the hot dog away. "You spit in this you dirty eleven!" The whole group suddenly grabbed the vender and threw him down. "You're sorry, aren't you?!" Kallen's brow furrowed and she started moving to intervene. Lelouch suddenly grabbed her.

"Think about it," Lelouch ordered calmly. "If we intervene and help him win, he'd never sell another thing. He'd get fired and probably lose his home. He'd have to move to the ghettos and be a victim anyway." He let go of Kallen's arm. "That's the kind of thing your mother would face." Kallen winced and looked down, thinking. Lelouch frowned but knew she'd seen the point. "Stay here."

Kallen looked up as Lelouch walked over to the group of bullies. Lelouch applied his best charm.

"Excuse me," he said, boyishly. The bullies turned to face him. "Could I get a hot dog please?"

"Whatever," one of them said, before the group walked off. Lelouch dropped his boyish smile and bought the hot dog. He started walking back to school, stepping past Kallen.

"I still don't have to like the fact that my mother is clinging to my dad like a leech!" she declared into Lelouch's back. Lelouch froze, angry. He spun to face her.

"My mother was killed in front of me. You want to discard the very thing I'd give anything to still have," Lelouch declared angrily. "You disgust me." Kallen's eyes went wide. Lelouch could see the Kallen's world being rocked inside her own mind. Lelouch sighed and looked away. He gave a guilty glance in her direction as she looked down, wounded.

"Kallen-" he began, a hand reaching out-

Just as his phone began to ring. Lelouch frowned as Kallen looked up at the sound and he pulled the phone from his pocket. Answering it he tried to hide his irritation. "Hello?"

'Master Lelouch?' came Sayoko's voice from the other line. She sounded paniced.

"Sayoko? What's wrong?"

'I was at the Stradtfeld home since I had forgotten a box when I came upon Kallen's maid,' Sayoko began, still sounding concerned.

"Kallen's maid? What happened?" Kallen looked worried again this time. Lelouch had to admit he was ill at ease himself.

'She had some kind of drug needle. I tried to stop her, and it broke. She ran off in a hurry, and I don't know where. I was concerned because I think she ran towards the ghetto.' Lelouch's eyes widened. Kallen's mother might get Kallen under scrutiny. If that happened it would cast a spotlight on the Black Knights.

"Kallen's mother ran toward the ghetto? Are you sure?" Lelouch asked to confirm, speaking quickly. Kallen's brow furrowed in determination. Lelouch hung up as soon as Sayoko confirmed his questions.

"My mother could give us all away! We can't let her!" the redhead had begun to speak way too loudly. Lelouch raised a hand to quiet her down.

"Kallen, calm down," he began, carefully.

"You calm down. You might not like it but she's my problem and I'll deal with her myself!" Kallen finished her shouting and began running toward the ghetto. Lelouch's eyes went wide as he realized what Kallen intended. She was going to kill her own mother.

"Kallen stop!" he shouted after her, taking off running.

"Ohgi," Kallen called, holding her phone to her ear as she ran. "I need my Burai, can you have it checked and loaded? We have a spy on the loose and we need to eliminate them ASAP!"

'Sure, I'll get Tamaki and Koshiba to help you,' Ohgi confirmed, after a moments hesistation. Kallen hung up and kept running towards the hideout.

Lelouch dropped to one knee, panting. "Why couldn't...(pant, pant)...Suzaku get the...(pant, pant)...bad stamina...(weeze, weeze)?" Lelouch got an idea with a jolt upright and began to jog over to the Stradtfeld home. Then it became a weezing slog, but the eventual dramatic point to this paragraph is that basically Lelouch gets there before sunset. Without the assistance of an ambulance and an oxygen tank. Actually a little before three, which means that he actually got there quite a while before sunset. I mean it's only a swallow's flight away. That would be an unladen swallow obviou-

GET BACK TO THE POINT

"Suzaku!" Suzaku spun as Lelouch came weezing and jogging over to Suzaku. Lelouch stopped before Suzaku and put his hands on his widened knees, bending over and panting as Suzaku stared at Lelouch's panting form.

"How far did you run? You shouldn't be this out of breath if you ran from Kallen's house," Suzaku questioned, standing there while Lelouch caught his breath.

"*wheeze*...fuck...*wheeze*...you..." Lelouch panted. He held up a piece of broken glass in a plastic bag. Suzaku blinked at it. "You worked...(weeze) with scientists right? Could you have them identify the liquid in this broken vial? Someone's life is at stake."

"Ah-ha," Lloyd began when Lelouch handed him the vial. "I do so love a specto-chemical analysis of unknown fluids," he commented as he dropped the vial into a scanner. Lelouch gave Suzaku a questioning look as Lloyd began scanning the vial in the Asheford Lab. Suzaku just shook his head, unwilling or unable to explain Lloyd.

"Would you care for a snack?" Cecile asked, holding out a tray of rice cakes.

"Oh, thank you," Lelouch said as he took one. Not paying attention, Suzaku made a sound just after Lelouch took a bite. Lelouch's eyes froze as he registered the unusual flavor that was occurring at the center of the rice cake held in his mouth.

"Uugh," Lelouch said through his closed mouth.

"Cecile," Lloyd called. Cecile stepped over. Lelouch took the opportunity of Cecile's turned back to spit the rice cake into a paper towel and throw it softly in the waste basket. "Can you help me identify this? It appears to be psychotropic but I'm having difficulty determining the chemicals involved.

"Blueberries?" Lelouch asked softly, giving Suzaku a questioning look with his narrowed eyes.

"It appears that it was a condensed powdered form of a rare mushroom, but appears to have been chemically of genetically altered," Cecile explained, examining the scan of the liquid. "It contains water from a nearby water supply though. This is consistent with some of the residue left on the Lancelot from one of the ghettos."

"My mother's cooking was never that bad, Suzaku. You had my scrambled eggs recipe from her, what do you think that says?" Lelouch continued berating Suzaku. Suzaku winced at the memory.

"It's Refrain," Lloyd announced, setting a printed piece of paper in Lelouch's hand. Lelouch noticed the analysis that indicated where it had come from. He began to leave.

"Thank you very much," Lelouch smiled, "this is a big help." Suzaku smiled and nodded. Lelouch left and began running to the elevator to his secret exit and entrance. He had a Burai stored there. And now he had a target.

0.0.0

Kallen had already found it. A bunch of people had gone into a large warehouse. There were more than fifty armed guards covering all of the access points with too few blind spots. She was out of her Knightmare, already dressed in her red resistance uniform. Tamaki and Koshiba were with her standing around the corner of a nearby building scanning the place with binoculars.

"We're gonna need more men if we're going in there," Tamaki growled softly, lowering his binoculars. Kallen winced but it was true.

'Call Ohgi and have him meet us here,' came Zero's voice. A Burai rolled up to the corner and the back cockpit hatch opened. Zero stood up and climbed from the cockpit, landing on his feet. 'We're going to capture them and see what's going on in there. Go make the call while Kallen and I plan the Knightmare attack.'

"You got it, Zero," Tamaki said, his voice an ill at ease grumble. Lelouch noticed and filed it away for later thought. The pair of resistance fighters walked off leaving Lelouch and Kallen alone. Lelouch walked up to her and made sure they couldn't see Kallen and he. The prince removed his helmet and met Kallen eye to eye.

"You're going to help me?" Kallen asked, incredulously.

"The Black Knights fight for justice. If there's a refrain deal going on in there with this many people why aren't they involved? The system has failed here. So we go in." Kallen smiled and turned to get in her red Burai. Lelouch's arm blocked the way, brushing her chest. "But Kallen, if your mother is in there, I'm not going to let you kill her."

If I what I think is going on in there is what I think, then she's not a threat. She's a victim of Britannia, using drugs to avoid the pain. You lost a brother, didn't you?" Lelouch paused as Kallen turned her head, open mouthed in irritation toward him. Lelouch's head turned with the force of the slap across his face that Kallen gave him.

"You don't get to play that card," Kallen informed him angrily. "Get out of my way, now." Kallen froze as a pistol muzzle brushed the back of her head.

"If you can't keep your head, you're a danger to me and to Nunnally," Lelouch warned. The gun cocked and Kallen's eyes widened as she stared into his. He put his mask back on just as Tamaki and Koshiba rounded the corner. Zero removed the gun so well Kallen barely saw it. He turned to Tamaki and Koshiba. 'Under no circumstances do we kill unarmed people. Shoot only if shot back. We're not executioners. This isn't posturing. If we kill all those people inside, we're not Knights for Justice. Then we're just the same as the Britannians.'

"Cool," Tamaki commented, uninterested. "So what plan have you come up with?"

'Kallen's going to drive through the front door,' Zero replied, as if it was obvious.

Tamaki paused a second, thinking.

"What?"

0.0.0

Kallen drove through the front door. Of course fifty armed men and the aluminum door disagreed with the approach. But a multi-tun armed and armored death machine helps open doors for beautiful young women. Ohgi's reinforcements came in behind her, returning fire and eliminating the paid muscle. Ohgi and Zero walked in side by side, calmly, as the commanders. Lelouch understood this was a matter of public relations for the Black Knights.

"Surrender or get put down!" Tamaki shouted from Zero's black Burai. The business men and other workers quickly dropped to their knees in surrender, and were quickly herded through to be grouped around Zero and Ohgi.

"So it was like an armored charge?" Ohgi asked, gesturing at Kallen's Knightmare.

'A battering ram, exactly,' Zero replied. 'Give it a year and I'll make you a Prime Minister,' he joked. Lelouch smiled at the very notion. He stepped towards the clustered business men. 'You are all remnants of a decadent past that will soon be swept under a rug. You'll be turned over to the police and confess to your crimes and you will pay for the oppression of the weak by the strong.' With that Zero was abou to turn to the search the rest of the warehouse for Kallen's mother.

"Those that don't study the past are condemned to repeat it!" shouted an older male Britannian. Lelouch slowly turned back around to look at the man. He had a cocky smile like he thought he was the smartest man in the room. Lelouch walked over to the boxes of the small glass vials of refrain. He picked up a half a dozen in one hand and walked over.

'Each of these,' he tossed one to the floor, breaking it, 'is a life,' broken vial, 'a life you help ruin,' another vial broke as Lelouch walked closer, 'a life you help destroy.'

"You think you have some kind of moral high ground, but This won't stop. Half of us will buy our way out and begin again. You elevens, you're the past." Lelouch was almost impressed. "You think you're changing the future, all you are is hoping to change the present. You live in the world but can't make it work for you. So you go on and on about others being in the past. You're in the past, terrorists."

Lelouch bent down, pressing the visor of his mask almost through the man's face they were so close. 'You think we're the past. All of these Elevens though, they'll live longer than you. They're younger than you. You'll be dead and gone and they'll still be alive. You're already a part of the past.' Then Zero stood up straight, drew his pistol, and shot the older man in the head. Ohgi jumped at the gunshot.

'The next time any of you think to restart this drug business, remember what you just saw,' Lelouch declared, loudly. 'Because we're the future. We are the Black Knights!' Zero turned to the large number of boxes of the glass vials filled with refrain. 'Ohgi, how much do you think this is worth?'

"Millions," Ohgi replied, uncertain about Zero. But the answer was easy. Zero walked closer towards it and scanned across the walls. There were hundreds of boxes.

'Burn it. Burn it all.' He looked at the prisoners than back to the Knightmare. 'If any of them try to escape, shoot them.' Lelouch stalked towards Kallen's direction to check the rest of the warehouse, flanked by a dozen Black Knights. Ohgi also followed.

"Zero, why did you kill that man?" Zero stopped at Ohgi's question.

'Ohgi, we don't have the time to bust down every refrain operation. Therefore we use this as an example. When others from this bust get out, they will remember this. Then our legend spreads and the other operations fear us and shut down. Then the next time we don't have to kill anyone. They'll just surrender. The idea of something is just as powerful as the act of doing it, Ohgi. Create the idea that we'll defeat Britannia, and people fight stronger and faster. Ideas are power, Ohgi. Remember that.'

0.0.0

Kallen lifted the aluminum door in front of her, having moved ahead of the group way too far. The other side was blackened, either the lights were out or just plain missing. She searched through the control panel in her Burai and found the night-vision filter. She gasped when the green image focused. Hundreds of people were standing around talking. But not to each other. They were talking to themselves.

"I'm studying abroad! I can't believe I got in!" Kallen's eyes focused in on the man speaking. She couldn't believe it when she saw the yellow overall.

"Japan is at the forefront of technology!"

"I'm getting engaged!"

"We'll never lose to Britannia!"

"Japan! Japan! Japan!"

"What the hell is this?" Kallen asked, perturbed. It must have been over the speakers, because a voice answered. Not a delusional one this time.

'It's a psychotropic compound,' Lelouch announced, standing nearby, seeing all the people. 'Refrain. Makes you relive past experiences, apparently. I read about this online. It's been developed specifically to target the Japanese for illegal drug use. Some medical uses for memory disorders, but not to this scale. And this...this is a refrain den.'

"But why?" Kallen asked, tears going to her eyes. Why go through the pain and the loss all over again? Why try to relive a past that's long gone?

'You could see your loved ones again. Go back to happier times.' Zero lowered his head, sorrowfully.

"Naoto-" Kallen's head whipped towards the sound of her brother's name. She saw her mother. She was walking around among the others, speaking like the others. Kallen's grip on the controls tightened.

Bullets sprayed and Kallen's Knightmare was rocked. She looked back over to see a blue and white Glasgow aiming a pair of pistols at her. She pushed down on the controls to raise her rifle. The Knight-police fired first, ripping her assault rifle to shreds and damaging her head unit. Kallen was trying to back up when the other Knightmare began to race at her. Kallen couldn't react fast enough to dodge but only wound up getting tackled to the ground.

She hit her head and saw stars. Something warm and wet felt like it was coming out of her scalp. She shook her head and it hurt even more. She turned her head to see the other Knightmare raising a knife over her cockpit block. Almost reflexively she pulled back on the sticks and her Burai raised an arm to stop the downward plunge of the knife.

"Naoto, I need you to take care of your sister." Kallen turned towards her front. Her mother was right in front of her, having fallen to her knees, facing back at her.

"I don't need you," Kallen hissed weakly at the small frail woman in front of her. "My brother is gone. Go away!"

'Give me that!' Lelouch demanded, taking a grenade launcher from one of the black knights. His Geass wouldn't work. He was improvising at best. He aimed the grenade launcher at the Glasgow, but there was no guarantee he wouldn't hit the Burai's cockpit. Lelouch blinked as he noticed it. 'Kallen!'

"You're in the way!" Kallen shouted at her mother, not hearing Lelouch. "Lelouch may want his mother but I don't need you! You're just holding me back!"

"I'm here for you Kallen," her mother said encouragingly. "Wherever you are, I'll be there for you. I promise, Kallen, my baby girl." Kallen's eyes went wide. She nearly let the knife skewer her. It even pierced through the outer skin of the cockpit and shattered her right screen, the tip coming through it.

"You stayed...you stayed there for me?"

'You're discarding the very thing I'd give anything to still have.' Lelouch's words rang back through her mind. Kallen's heart broke through shame and joy. Her mother didn't want to stay with her father. Her mother loved her so much that she endured being a maid for her.

"Mommy," Kallen whimpered, crying, smiling at her mother for the first time in ages.

'Kallen! Fire your slash harkens directly above you! Drag him with you!' Zero's voice was in her ear again. She looked up and saw what he was saying. She looked back down at her mother and then back to the Glasgow.

"You're not making me lose my mother," she declared to the faceless machine, the face of Britannia itself, in her mind. She aimed her slash harkens up and fired. Retracting both lines, she dragged both Knightmares away from her mother and rammed the heavy scaffolding in the corner of the room. The Glasgow was half-crushed half-ripped apart into a unnamed shape that no human could survive within. Kallen's Burai lost some paint. Kallen was smiling with tears running down her face.

Zero opened the back hatch manually and climbed inside the cockpit. Kallen saw him and offered her hand. Lelouch took it, squeezing gently. He began to pull her up and out of the cockpit. Kallen hugged him again, the first time since shinjuku. Lelouch tentatively hugged her back.

"Is my mom okay?" Kallen asked into his shoulder.

'She's safe,' Lelouch confirmed. Kallen smiled and threw up a little bit on his shoulder. 'You might have a concussion.'

"My head feels funny."

'Thought so,' Lelouch commented, quickly. 'Be prepared to say you fell down some stairs a lot.'

"I fell down some stairs?"

'Yes.'

"Fell down some stairs." Lelouch patted her back and got another bit of vomit on his shoulder for his trouble. "My mommy does silly stuff for me." Lelouch sighed as he recalled a moment involving a horse indoors with his mother.

'Mine too.'

0.0.0

"Kallen! What happened?" Rivalz asked as he entered Kallen's hospital room the next day.

"I fell down some stairs," Kallen said, smiling. The entire student council had crammed themselves into the tiny one bed hospital room. Various get well soon cards and flowers had abounded. Lelouch had been chastised for hours for not bringing anything. At which point Shirley and Milly had dragged him down to buy her a wreath from the gift shop.

"Good thing Lelouch was there to get you to a hospital," Rivalz commented, setting down a gift basket. Milly leaned into Lelouch, narrowed bemused eyes staring into his.

"How did you get her to a hospital by the way? You can barely lift Nunnally as it is," Milly asked, her voice cocky and knowing. Lelouch ground his teeth inside his head, irritated at the mention of his meager physical status.

"Physics," Lelouch replied, irritated. The rest of the council made a surprised sound. Lelouch sighed and eyed the cieling. "And some paid help," he admitted, embarrassed. Everyone laughed and turned back to Kallen with well wishes. Lelouch leaned over to speak quietly to Suzaku.

"If you ever tell them how much I paid you I'll kill you," he warned softly. Suzaku just gave a nervous chuckle. Lelouch stood straight again. _Whatever Kallen's feelings were about her mother,_ he commented to himself, _she's changed. It would've been easy to send Kallen's mother to her sentence, but destiny and Geass can change things like that. And Kallen has a real reason to fight. A future world where she can be with her mother the way she wants, without Britannia._

Kallen looked over to the next bed and saw her mother smiling. Kallen smiled back.

Lelouch left the room and began walking home. _Kallen will be tested in the months to come. I'm sure of it. First we have to meet Cornelia in battle and prove that we can defeat the Britannians in open battle. Still, we don't have a way of matching their numerical superiority. It'll depend on the ground we fight on._ Lelouch stopped his thoughts when he heard water splashing and looked down to see he'd stepped in some mud running down the sidewalk. He blinked as it carried away a twig. Lelouch looked up, eyes widening as his idea struck him.

Cornelia...I've got you. Lelouch began running.

0.0.0

Well as has been requested this thing was almost entirely OC from the real episode. And yes, as predicted they'll be together by Narita.

Answering Reviews!

Republic Che- I could update soon but I'm updating now, so...there.

Baron e la Beefdipping- Like Lelouch could flip a table. But Lelouch looking dead like his mother felt way too cold and unemotional, and it's an emotional scene...so I stick by my choice. Probably more correct your way, but it's not about being correct it's about getting in Kallen's pants, (sorta) so I'm sticking with my way! ...Like Lelouch could flip her onto a table.

Lite Magarita- I can guarantee Suzaku will not. Just as I'm writing it Lelouch and Suzaku are yin and yang. Lelouch has intellect and Geass, Suzaku has muscle and Lancelot. Suzaku having Geass would tip him to be the stronger. But also Kallen has formed a part of the duality and made it a trinity, so you know, probably not. Kallen's sort of both of them combined. She's both smart and strong and has Guren. Kallen getting a Geass tho would be so far out. Alice has a Geass, totally. It'll be revealed soon...ish. Nunnally? That one I'm keeping in my vest. Mwa ha ha.


	11. Chapter 11

The Demon and the Red Moon

Disclaimer: Code Geass doesn't belong to me. No profit involved. GOD SMITE ME FOR EVERYTIME I WRITE PINK AND PRINCESS IN THE SAME SENTENCE! GAAAARRR!

(seriously, yo, its fucking annoying. I'm fucking tempted to die her hair black just to get out of writing pink-princess.)

Spinzaku Kururugi FACT #666: If you write Pink-Princess 666 times, spinzaku Kururugi will leap out of your computer or notebook to kick you in the head 666 times. If you survive that, writing it one extra time causes a fatal brain aneurysm. Also, whoever designed Euphemia deserves to be cut in half with a rusty version of the Zangetsu's Shadow Longsword, from the soft underbelly of their genitals up, and make it last for twenty four hours.

…

…

pink-princess - **BANG!-**

I'm experimenting a bit here and there with some of the style bits for phone conversation below, would appreciate feedback. Thanks for waiting everybody.

Answering reviews,

 **Guren Dances**

Lelouch was awoken suddenly when Kallen jostled him by the shoulder. He opened his eyes and immediately wished for a quick painless death as the sunlight burned his eyes. The black-haired prince gave a exhausted groan and rolled over to bury his face in the pillow.

"Don't bother me before noon," Lelouch grumbled into his pillow.

"Do you know what time it is?" Kallen asked, carefully. She narrowed one eye as an idea struck her. "Do you know what _day_ it is?" Lelouch groaned into his pillow and turned his head, wincing.

"Saturday?" Lelouch asked, uncertain. Kallen replied with a sad smile. Lelouch's eyes widened. "Sunday?" Kallen still didn't reply. Lelouch eyes nearly popped out of his head with worry. "Monday?" he asked weakly. Kallen sighed and stood straight.

"Relax. It's two in the afternoon Saturday. You got a message," Kallen commented. "A new shipment, the largest we've gotten yet. And it's being personally delivered by-"

"Tohdoh!" Lelouch bolted upright, suddenly excited. Kallen was startled by the action and began to fall backwards. She was yanked back to a balance by Lelouch grabbing her arm. She was pulled right up against him, grabbing his shoulders as she fell right into him. Kallen froze as Lelouch's vibrant determined expression greeted her, his eyes like a blazing violet fire. His lips were on hers before she could even gasp. He broke the kiss just as suddenly as he had started it and began to run around his room, grabbing various things and throwing them into his bag.

"I need to check the techinical specs and analyze the excavators, and get Ohgi and the rest learning our combat drills. We've got to certify combat ability in the Knightmares, and assign radio channels and establish unit designations," Lelouch paused from his ramblings and looked up at Kallen. "We haven't got all day, Q1," he barked meaningfully, then proceeded to walk out of his room in just his boxers. Sayoko gave a shout and there was a loud noise like someone getting repeatedly hit with a newspaper.

"Back! Back! Get your clothes on first!" Sayoko shouted, beating Lelouch over the head, backing him up to his room. Kallen blushed furiously and covered her face, mortified.

# # #

Ohgi almost jumped as he entered the staging area. Technicians were unloading and assembling dozens of Burais. Crates of weapons were being moved by fork-lift trucks. And in the center of it all stood seven people. One was Zero, already checking something on a list. Kallen stood right beside him, watching in amazement at the machinery. The other five were different.

They were wearing the green uniforms of the Japanese Liberation Front, unadorned with medals or rank insignia, but Ohgi knew who they were. Everyone who had lived through the occupation would. At the farthest right stood the tallest of them, with darker skin and a long face. But he also seemed the friendliest, with a permanent smile on his face. Next was the only woman, who was exactly the same height as the leader of the five, and echoed his own determined composure. Next was a younger man with glasses and a scar over one eye. By far the youngest but also the most observant. And finally the oldest and shortest, but seemed the wisest and most lethal, apart from their leader.

But when Ohgi focused on Kyoshiro Tohdoh, it was if the ancient gods of Japan had been reborn into flesh in this one man. He was perfectly still, stone faced, but seemed as though he would be able to kill everyone in the room if he so chose.

 _'Don't look him in the eye,'_ Zero warned loudly, not looking up from his list. Despite Zero's warning Ohgi found himself looking back at Tohdoh just as Tohdoh noticed him and looked in his direction. Tamaki and Isurugi were standing behind his shoulders, and all three met Tohdoh's gaze.

Ohgi felt, in Tohdoh's eyes to be a naked child being examined on a table. Every secret thought Ohgi had or ever will have was Tohdoh's to know. Ohgi felt his sweat rise up unbidden, and felt so self-conscious that he instinctively buttoned his black knight jacket and bowed. Tohdoh nodded and looked back to Zero.

 _'Thank you for this,'_ Zero finally said, lowering the list and gazing back up at Tohdoh. _'May I ask a few questions as to why we were given this equipment?'_

"Kyoto requested that we personally deliver the new model along with a fresh batch of new equipment, on the condition that you use it to help defend the Narita base," Tohdoh replied, no-nonsense. "More than that, I was not made privy to that information. May I indulge my curiosity?"

 _'Of course,'_ Zero replied. Ohgi walked closer, eager to hear what the next question and answer would be.

"Why did you side with Britannia against Kusakabe?" Tohdoh asked quickly. Everyone froze.

 _'I didn't side with Britannia,'_ Zero replied, as if it was obvious, _'I saved innocent hostages from a foolish man seeking to inflate his own ego. And the bombing of the school was worse. Those children will continue the legacy of Britannia unless we show them a better way. When Britannia is destroyed, the people that will be left will be the subjects of a new Japanese Nation. Wouldn't you choose to have loyal subjects, or ones that will rebel, remembering how the Japanese threatened their lives? And may I ask, why didn't you side with Kusakabe?'_

"I agree with your assessment of Kusakabe, he was a foolish idiot who wasted the lives of his own men and innocent lives," Tohdoh replied, still stone faced. "But I've yet to determine whether you are any better."

 _'Fair enough,'_ Zero answered, bemused. _'May I ask you to stay and help with something?'_

"For three hours, then we must depart," Tohdoh nodded, agreeing. He and the four holy swords walked away. Ohgi walked over to meet Kallen and Zero.

 _'You looked him in the eye,'_ Zero accused softly at Ohgi. Ohgi blinked and swallowed, but nodded. _'It felt like being under a microscope didn't it?'_

"It was like he could see right through me," Ohgi commented, nervous at the very memory. "Like I was being judged by all of Japan."

 _'Tohdoh isn't a normal man, he's a genius commander and a brilliant strategist and warrior. But know this, Ohgi. He hasn't found you wanting. When you bowed, he showed you respect and nodded back. You're a part of a greater struggle Ohgi, and Tohdoh has agreed to fight with you at his back if need be. Be proud of that.'_

"Y-yeah," Ohgi stammered, nodding. "But, did he affect you? You met his eyes way longer than any of us." Zero turned his helmet to face Ohgi. It took a second for Ohgi to comprehend the noise the helmet was synthesizing, until he realized it was laughter.

 _'No, Ohgi, I can assure Tohdoh's gaze isn't quite enough to affect me. I've got more terrible demons to contend with.'_ Ohgi made a confused noise but Zero walked past.

Thirty minutes later Zero had organized the entire black knights into rows of five, save Kallen. Ohgi stood at the front of his line, as did Tamaki and Isurugi. Tohdoh and the Holy Swords were watching from Zero's left side.

0.0.0

Kallen looked up at the red Knightmare Frame. The Guren Mk. 2. She heard footsteps behind her, packing for the trip to Narita. Kallen jumped as she realized Zero was standing beside her, looking at the Guren. She put a hand to her chest, trying to massage her heart back down to regular levels.

"You enjoy sneaking up on people, don't you?" she whispered at him. Zero's mask turned to look at her. He stood there looking at her for a moment, silently.

" _I like having the edge,"_ Lelouch confirmed. He looked back at the Guren. He held up a small object to Kallen's view. It was a small coin. _"Your thoughts?"_ Kallen took the coin, hesitantly, eying Lelouch strangely.

"Shouldn't you spend some time reading the manual for that thing?" Kallen asked, nodding at the red Knightmare.

" _I don't plan on piloting it,"_ Zero declared, and then tossed something at Kallen. Kallen's hand flashed out and caught the small object. Kallen felt that plastic texture of the piece and held it up to examine it. Her eyes shot wide at the small red Knightmare Key.

"It's mine? But-"

" _I'm not a bad pilot, but I don't have the skill or presence of mind to simultaneously pilot a Knightmare and command our forces,"_ Lelouch explained, facing away. _"You're a natural pilot and you have a reason to fight. With my right arm still healing I need another right arm."_ He spun and pointed his right hand at her. _"You."_

"But," Kallen winced, thinking about her mother. "I don't know if I can risk my life, now that I have something to live for." Inside his helmet, Lelouch's eyes went wide. He turned away. He hadn't thought of that. Nunnally flashed before his eyes, and he winced. The prince didn't want to speak about it. So he walked away.

"Zero," Kallen called to his retreating back, her voice cracking slightly. Lelouch frowned. "Can we-can I...discuss this later?"

 _'Very well.'_ Lelouch continued to walk away, angrily. He felt simultaneously betrayed and understanding.

0.0.0

Lelouch set the Burai to cruise control as he pulled out his booklet of maps yet again. He flipped between the newer Britannian and older Japanese maps repeatedly, scanning them intently. He pushed the button on the radio and gazed up at the road.

'We'll continue up this road. The Britannian forces don't have it on their maps, so it's likely they don't know about it. We'll be crossing a bridge a few miles up. After that I'm going to seperate and contact the JLF to let them know we'll be engaging the Britannian Forces.' Lelouch let go of the broadcast button and put his maps away.

'Roger,' Ohgi replied. 'How far up until we use this equipment we're bringing along? Are we building some trenches?' Lelouch growled to himself softly. More questioning.

"Please remember how we talked about **minimum radio chatter** , B-1," Lelouch said into his radio, overemphasizing the pronunciation.

"Asshole," Tamaki growled loudly in his Burai. Kallen heard from the open cockpit of the Guren. She looked away, begrudgingly having to agree with Tamaki for once, when she saw the shapes on the horizon.

"Zero!" she said into her radio. "Britannians, 9 o'clock!"

Lelouch quickly zoomed in with his Burai, opening its face armor to reveal the high-sensitivity sensor factsphere. 9 Knightmares, about half of the Black Knight contingent, but unlike the Black Knights they weren't leading any infantry. The Black Knights had brought along a few dozen members on trucks with rocket-propelled grenades and anti-tank guns.

"Ohgi, why are they using Knightmares, not tanks?" Lelouch asked into the radio.

"What?" Ohgi blinked inside his cockpit at the question. "Why not use Knightmaes?"

'Knightmares aren't designed for sieges, but they're not using tanks. Cornelia is overconfident in Britannia's superiority. So the tactics have gone out the window, using Knightmares like siege vehicles. Wild dogs outnumbering a lion and drowning it in attacks without a real strategy.' Ohgi didn't reply, absorbing the lesson. 'We're moving on.'

0.0.0

Euphemia was walking among the triage stations set up around the G1 Command Vehicle. So many empty white beds. And she somehow knew that each one would be filled and stained with the reds and browns of injury and death. She winced and looked up toward the Narita mountain.

"They sooner they're destroyed, the better," Cornelia declared, making Euphemia jump and turn. The pink-haired young girl frowned at her purple-curled sister and her knight.

"I don't see why we couldn't surround them and issue a demand for surrender," Euphie commented, looking back towards the mountain.

"They're savages, it's not like they know any better," Cornelia sneered. Euphemia didn't look back to her sister or reply. "They held you hostage and yet you'd offer them a hand in friendship? They are vermin!"

 _They're still people._ Euphemia thought, but didn't say.

"Why hello your highness!" came Lloyd's excited voice. "I don't suppose you'd allow our dear Lancelot to lead the charge against the unwashed oriental hordes!" Euphemia spun around at the voice and gave Lloyd a glare. Of course she mentally stamped her foot that she didn't have a threatening bone in her body when she realized she probably looked like she was pouting cutely. But her eyes widened and her mouth opened involuntarily as she saw Suzaku standing beside the Lancelot trailer. He noticed and looked back. His eyes met hers and she felt like she was sinking into his green eyes.

"The special corps will remain by the G1 and observe," Cornelia declared, snapping Euphie bak to reality. "Especially with my concerns about your choice of pilot. You may have convinced my brother Schneizel to ask me to show you combat, but you're still a research unit and not fit for front-line duty."

"Oh, very well," pouted Lloyd, acting like a child denied a toy. Cornelia strode off to find her Knightmare. One of Euphemia's military advisers walked to the Pink-crowned Princess.

"One moment, please," Euphemia asked the advisor, and walked over to Suzaku. Lloyd watching, making a confused sound as he did.

"Suzaku, are you sure you want to be here?" Euphemia asked as she came to a stop before Suzaku. Suzaku's mouth opened in surprise at the question.

"Yes, absolutely," Suzaku replied firmly, resolved.

"But, hundreds or thousands of your people will get killed here," Euphemia pointed out. Suzaku frowned.

"Those who choose to fight against the system are dangerous," Suzaku declared. "Even if they are my people, we can't let them stand by and continue to endanger innocent people." Euphemia frowned as Suzaku spoke, looking down sorrowfully. "Euphie-"

"Princess Euphemia!" The military aide corrected forcefully. Suzaku winced.

"Princess Euphemia, don't you agree?"

Euphemia winced, still frowning. _Do we just destroy people because they're dangerous? Is that protecting people? Is that how someone should rule?_

"I..I don't know," she admitted, then turned and walked back toward the G1, still pondering. _Lelouch, what would you think of all this?_

0.0.0

Lelouch was jolted from his train of thought as his phone buzzed against his chest. He frowned and pulled the phone from the inner pocket of his suit. The caller ID read 'Euphemia.' Lelouch's eyes shot wide in surprise. The dark-haired boy narrowed his eyes and looked away, contemplating as the phone vibrated in his hand. What did she want? He switched off his radio and answered the phone slowly, then hesitantly held the phone to his ear, not speaking.

'Lelouch?'

-Phone Transcript-

-Silence-

Male Voice: Euphemia.

Female Voice: Are you still upset from the...party? (Hesitantly)

Male Voice: "Upset?" (Pause.) Yes, I would have to say I'm still "upset" about the death of the only parent I ever loved dying and being exiled from my home.

Female Voice: (Hurt Gasp) Lelouch-

Male Voice: (Interupting) But it was wrong of me to blame you. For that I apologize. Now what did you want to talk about?

Female Voice: Do you know about Cornelia's latest attacks on the JLF?

Lelouch looked out the side view-screen of his Burai, looking down at the massed forces of the Britannians moving up the mountain.

"I'm fairly aware," Lelouch noted dryly. The other side of the line was silent for a long moment, making Lelouch narrow his eyes as Euphemia failed to speak.

'What should I do?' Lelouch recoiled slightly, shocked at the question. 'I don't know what to do. I hate that we're exterminating these people and that we have to fight. I'm not as smart as you, so I had to ask, what should I do?'

"I can't answer that, Euphemia," Lelouch admitted. Euphie fell silent again. Lelouch sighed, "Let's talk when I get back to Asheford." He hung up the phone. He pressed the talk button on the radio. "B-1, this is Zero. I'm moving far ahead. Maintain radio silence until we regroup at the summit." Lelouch accelerated his Burai ahead.

Euphemia blinked, her mouth opening in confusion. 'When I get back to Asheford,' Lelouch had said. Where was Lelouch?

0.0.0

Jeremiah's heart was a leaden stone in a pond at the very sight of it. The glorious advance and the last of the true resistance before him and he was locked into the rearguard, a glorified observer. Jeremiah's rage burned in his chest impotently. Of all the emasculating assignments, this was the worst.

"You coward," Quel grumbled from his Sutherland. Jeremiah gritted his teeth, his head spinning at the little shit.

"How dare you!"

"Be quiet, Orange boy," Quel replied, hissing at Jeremiah. "It's your fault our careers are over. You couldn't just retire in shame like a man, you had to drag us down with you." Jeremiah looked away angrily, but smiled to himself silently.

 _Fool,_ he thought to himself, _if the Black Knights show up I'll show you who's a coward. You dare to try to kill me. I've already disabled your ejection mechanism. You'll pay the price for betraying Jeremiah Gottwald._

0.0.0

Lelouch investigated the listening post screens as the geassed soldiers continued to play shogi. Lelouch checked his maps and re-checked his calculations. Everything was going according to predictions. In fact the Black Knights had gotten a lot of ground ahead of the Britannians.

"How utterly perfect," Lelouch thought aloud, chuckling. "Cornelia seems to be as idiotic as Clovis when it comes to knowing the battlefield. If this keeps up, I will have all day to wait for them to get to the target point." Lelouch stood and picked up his maps, folding them expertly. Clutching his helmet in the crook of his arm, he began to walk toward the door and paused by the shogi game.

After a few minutes of watching the game he looked out the window to see snow beginning to fall. Opening the door he stepped down and reached a gloved hand up. A snowflake landed in his black glove and melted quickly.

"Some people think that's bad luck to have a snowflake melt that quickly," C said from beside him. Lelouch frowned at the witch, dropping his hand to his side.

"A stupid superstition," Lelouch declared, not looking at the immortal. "How did you even get up here?" Lelouch growled and looked away when she didn't answer, ignoring him. "Did you come for a reason or just to test my patience again?" The witch continued to not respond. The prince ground his teeth, his ire rising every second.

"I was just wondering Lelouch," the witch finally spoke. "Why are you Lelouch?"

"You came all this way to ask that foolishness?" The prince growled incredulously.

"You changed your last name but you kept Lelouch," C stated. "Why is that?" Lelouch's anger flew away as if it had never been there. The question made his head spin as he thought about it.

"Why did you choose to call yourself C?" Lelouch replied, curious.

"I asked you first," the green girl replied.

"I've not a clue," Lelouch admitted, looking away. "I know my mother didn't choose it, yet I kept that name. Perhaps I unintentionally want to spite my father? I don't know what else people would call me. It's not like my middle name is any better."

"What is your middle name?" C asked suddenly, glancing at him. Lelouch looked back at her, embarrassed and frowning.

"Gawain," the prince replied.

"That's definitely not you," C declared, looking back at the snow. "You're not really a loyal knight, more like a mischievous devil."

"Lancelot was the loyal knight," Lelouch corrected, eyes narrowing.

"Lancelot betrayed his king and ran off with Queen Guinevere," C corrected. "Gawain stayed loyal and died fighting against the King's bastard son." Lelouch blinked. He'd been wrong about something. It was a new experience. Lelouch immediately hated it.

"So why did you choose C?" Lelouch changed the subject.

"Snow is white," the witch began. Lelouch waited, eying her out of the corner of his eye, curious. "Because it's forgotten what color it's supposed to be."

"You've forgotten what kind of person you are or were," Lelouch deduced, closing his eyes at how easy the puzzle was. "You should wear the mask and not me."

"No thanks, I'm not as theatrical as you."

"I'm theatrical?"

"You like being in the center stage, being the smartest in the room. You also like having all the power, keeping people in chains of logic and behavior." Lelouch gritted his teeth, eyes shooting open and glaring lasers at the immortal.

"I don't like being psycho-analysed," he growled.

"I didn't have to. I could figure it out the minute I knew what your Geass did. It's always a reflection of a person's desires or dreams. But it always turns out to be quite hollow." C announced, catching a snowflake in her hand as she spoke, as if to a child. Lelouch relaxed his face, appeased but suddenly even more curious.

"What was yours?"

"My business," C declared, matter of factually. "You worry about your Geass and our contract and I'll stay out of your personal life."

"You say that as if you haven't already infested my personal life," Lelouch taunted, irritated. He turned and walked over to his customized Burai. Rising to the cockpit, he sent the visual signal and began to double-check his controls and systems.

'Zero,' came Kallen's voice over the radio, 'can I come up to your location?' Lelouch paused.

"For what reason?" He asked, cautiously but not hard.

'It's a personal request,' Kallen replied. Lelouch frowned.

"Very well, but get up here quickly. We need to reach the summit in the next two hours," Lelouch advised. "Continue radio silence as ordered until we link back up, B-1."

'Uh, Roger,' Ohgi replied.

By the time Kallen arrived at the log-cabin that was the JLF listening post Lelouch was drawing on a map and playing with a small chessboard, while simultaneously taking notes. He noted the Guren Mk. II arriving and then looked back down to his notes and board. Kallen landed on her feet and walked over to speak to Zero.

"So what's your personal request?" Lelouch asked, uninterested, not looking up.

"I, uh," Kallen paused to notice C standing nearby picking weeds, then looked back to Lelouch, nervously. "I wanted to discuss my continued participation."

"I see," Lelouch commented noncommittally.

"I'm the only family my mother has left," Kallen began, stopping when Lelouch folded some maps and papers noisily. "If I die as part of this, I don't know what will happen to her." C noticed Kallen talking from her sitting position and paused to watch. "I, how do I keep fighting like that?" The last question was unusually desperate. Lelouch paused eying up at her, then sighed and set his papers to the step beside him.

"I have no intention of letting myself die until I can secure Nunnally's permanent safety. I'm no coward. I simply have to maintain a state of self-preservation," Lelouch folded his hand in his lap as he spoke, looking up at Kallen. "Lie, cheat, steal, kill. Smash everything between you and your continued existence. If you can't, then don't fight." He stood straight, facing Kallen, his face set with metal determination. "The only ones who should kill are those who are prepared to be killed."

Kallen's eyes fell to her feet, unsure and ashamed. Lelouch frowned.

"'Acting all so high and mighty, this is why I hate Britannians.'" Kallen looked up as Lelouch said the words. "That's what you should be saying right now. And yet, you're looking at your feet, unsure of yourself. Is this the real Kallen I'm talking to?" Kallen's brow furrowed as she narrowed her eyes, suddenly angry at the black prince.

"What do you mean? Like I've been replaced with some weakling?" Kallen asked furiously.

"That's better," Lelouch praised. "But I've worn enough masks to tell when someone else is. The sick girl at school or the firebrand in a red Knightmare. They're both masks. Like me."

"Don't compare me to you, we're nothing alike!" Kallen roared, leaning toward him.

"Of course we are," Lelouch replied, smiling a smug smile. "I'm a prince pretending to be a terrorist, and you're a freedom fighter pretending to be a school girl. We both exist in two worlds but are truly accepted by neither. We both wear two masks around everyone we care about. Everyone wears a mask, Kallen. That's not wrong. We all tell lies to keep people far enough away to be ourselves."

"That doesn't make us the same!" Kallen refuted, backing up a step, maintaining her aggressive stance. Lelouch just smiled.

"Does this mean I don't get to pick the movie next date?" He asked innocently.

"I'm picked the next movie!" Kallen declared.

"I'm looking forward to our next date then," Lelouch replied, smiling politely.

"Assuming we get out of this mess you're putting us in!"

"Then you're still with the Black Knights?" Lelouch confirmed questioningly, still smirking.

"Absolutely!" Kallen affirmed, grinning confidently. "We're gonna win this battle and the next and the next and the next!" Kallen blinked and her eyes went wide, looking at Lelouch.

"What just happened?" C asked, uncertain.

"Wow," Kallen commented, stunned. "You're good at that."

"And I do so make an inspired Lady MacBeth," Lelouch commented, bowing.

"Thanks," Kallen admitted, still impressed. She turned to mount the Guren.

"On the subject of gratitude," Lelouch declared loudly, "I do feel as though my efforts in securing your mother's dropping of all charges and release was met with an alarming lack of said gratitude." Kallen turned, narrowing her amused eyes as Lelouch eyed the snow-laden sky, noncommittally. Kallen set her hands on her hips and sauntered over in her red outfit, drawing Lelouch's eyes downwards, the corner of his mouth twitching. Lelouch blushed slightly and he brought his cloak about himself.

 _How embarrassing,_ Lelouch thought, wincing internally at his sudden condition. Kallen stopped in front of him, looking up into his eyes.

"What kind of thanks were you thinking about, you pervert?" the redhead asked.

"Oh, is that how you talk to your commander now?" Lelouch asked coyly, dodging the subject.

"I thought I was talking to my boyfriend," Kallen replied, smiling, relaxing her eyes in amusement. Lelouch blinked at the word boyfriend and smiled again.

"As your boyfriend, it was my pleasure, milady," at that he bowed slightly, lowering his face to her eye-level. Kallen crossed her arms and leaned in and kissed the prince on the cheek and walked back to her Guren.

"Like I said, very theatrical," C commented, uninterested. Lelouch smiled wider and rubbed his cheek, amused.

"The only thing that could ruin this day is if the JLF suddenly detects the Britannians too early."

0.0.0

"To summarize," Tamaki shouted loudly at the summit as the Britannians and the JLF were exchanging fire, "You have us trapped between two armies that hate us and we don't even have a plan to get out of here! Now give me one good reason why I shouldn't shoot this mask guy right here!" At that Tamaki raised his assault rifle and leveled it straight at Zero.

 _'Well,'_ Lelouch said inside his helmet, _'I do have a plan to get us out of here and capture Cornelia, save the JLF, beat the Britannians and be back in time to enjoy a hot shower. Not to mention...'_ Tamaki raised his head from his rifle as Zero paused.

 _'If you kill me, none of you will leave here alive. You're surrounded and outgunned. And even if you somehow can fight the Britannian forces, the ground is so treacherous you'll be ground to dust before even getting half-way. And the JLF don't have the power to defeat the forces against us, even if we aid them. This is the tipping point to see if Japan will rise from the ashes, or forever be ground into the dirt! The only question remaining to you is, do you wanna win on your feet with me, or die on your knees?'_ Tamaki's jaw dropped at the speech.

 _I was an amazing Lady MacBeth,_ Lelouch declared to himself, smiling.

 _'The Britannians are relying on their technological power, on sheer numbers, like a hammer to beat the JLF, us, and this entire mountain into the ground! BUT THIS?! THIS IS OUR MOUNTAIN! THIS IS OUR COUNTRY! THIS IS OUR BATTLEFIELD! STICK WITH ME, AND YOU WILL HAVE A MIRACLE! BUT EVEN BETTER!'_ At this moment Lelouch threw his cape wide. _'YOU WILL HAVE VICTORY!'_

"Yeah!" Ohgi agreed excitedly.

"Zero! Zero!" Inoue and Tsukiyama cheered.

"With Zero we can win!" Kallen added.

"What about it Tamaki?" Ohgi asked, smiling at Tamaki. Tamaki lowered his rifle, still dumbstruck.

"Yeah man!" He suddenly shouted, raising a fist. "Let's make a miracle!"

 _'Well then,'_ zero added. _'Attach the sand panels to all the Knightmares, and have the artillery teams prep weapons.'_ He looked right at Kallen.

 _'Start up the Guren, and show the Britannians the resolve of the Black Knights. Fire it up.'_


	12. Chapter 12

**The Demon and the Red Moon**

 _Disclaimer: Code Geass is not owned by me and this is a non-profit work of fiction. Please support the official release of Season 1. FUCK SEASON 2 WITH A RUSTY SPORK._

 _Hello guys, so sorry for the wait. Definite writers block happened and both my og laptop and the cheap back up died badly. Cats were involved. no one wins. I do want to hear from you guys how the overarching Mao arc might take place, please lemme know in your reviews. If you wanna contribute go ahead and start your theories with #NOTTHEFIRST so I can get to them easily._

 _No real reviews i want to answer except Islamy96, thanks for spotting that because I totally didn't. The rest of you thanks for the reviews, please keep it up._

 _Warning: Flashbacks aplenty here._

Destruction of the Resistance

Cornelia awoke in a hospital bed, groggy. She began to look around and felt her head throbbing. Her room was empty save a few chairs in the corner. She inhaled the anti-septic cleanliness as she began to sit up, ignoring the pain.

"Where the hell am I?" she asked the void. Where was Zero?

A red-haired nurse entered the room and saw Cornelia sitting up.

"Do you need help ma'am?" the nurse asked as she crossed the room in a few bounds. "You hit your head pretty hard."

"How?" Cornelia demanded, forcefully. The nurse adjusted the bed so Cornelia could sit at least partially upright with fewer difficulties. Cornelia finally gave in to the horrible throbbing and rubbed her forehead with a weighty groan.

"Would you like a pain reliever?" Cornelia sighed in the affirmative. A small paper cup was offered to her and she shot back the pills with eagerness.

"My Princess!" Guilford exclaimed, striding quickly to the bed. The sound made Cornelia's head ache again and she gave in to another groan. "My apologies. My princess I should have never left your side."

"What happened during the battle?"

.0

The landslide had dragged away nearly half of the Britannian Knightmares and all the infantry in its path. And as soon as the landslide had abated another wave of black Knightmare Frames had followed it down, engaging the vanguard of the Britannia Forces.

In the mobile headquarters Euphemia watched the tragedy. She couldn't comprehend the magnitude of the act. The destruction wasn't even limited to the mountain. The mud had even flooded the town below.

"Princess Cornelia's been isolated by the landslide, she's completely exposed." Cornelia absorbed the words without knowing what to do.

"Are there any units we can send in to support Cornelia?" Euphemia asked desperately. She looked around the tactical display. "This unit, the Purebloods?"

"The Purebloods? They're disgraced. They have that Orange character. Such an unreliable soldier can't be counted on." Euphemia couldn't believe her ears. "Send in the G1, we'll cover Cornelia's retreat."

"No! We have a field hospital here, if the headquarters move they'll be defenseless. Contact Jeremiah Gottwald," Euphemia ordered emphatically.

0.0.0

"She trusted Gottwald with my life?" Cornelia asked, disgusted.

"The Pure-bloods did ultimately help us," Guilford conceded, frowning.

"Very well," Cornelia moaned, sighing. "What became of Gottwald?" Guilford frowned, averting his eyes. Cornelia raised an eyebrow at her knight.

"Killed?" Guilford winced briefly at the question.

"We're not sure," Guilford admitted. "One of the pure-bloods believed that he ejected, but we've yet to find him. He was assaulted by the same red Knightmare that attacked you."'

"You're implying that I lost to one Knightmare." Cornelia frowned as her hazy memory began to return on its own.

.0

Cornelia had moved to this trench to establish a rally point from which to redouble the Britannian assault. However she had stopped her knightmare at the sight of the enemy before her.

The black knightmare resembled a Glasglow, thought slightly modified. Its face plate had been bedecked with a set of golden horns a minor red coloration. The machine was just as at ease as Cornelia's Knightmare.

'We meet again, Cornelia,' came the synthesized voice.

"Zero," Cornelia acknowledged, keeping her contempt from affecting her voice. "Very brave of you to face me alone. How very theatrical," she mocked him now. "For a piece of eleven filth."

'I'm not an eleven,' Zero corrected. 'And,' he continued, his knightmare raising its empty hand, 'I'm not alone, either.' A black Knightmare rose on either side of Cornelia, standing atop the sides of the massive trench. Cornelia eyed them then focused her eyes back on Zero.

"It seems I was wrong, you're not very brave at all," Cornelia added mockingly.

'Why fight you one on one when I know I would lose? Is every enemy you face that stupid?' Zero asked. 'If they are I begin to wonder about how skilled you really are.'

"Shall we see?" Cornelia replied, grinning at finally getting the chance to skewer the object of her revenge.

'Indeed we will see,' Zero continued, 'but I'm not your opponent.'

"Clearly you don't understand the situation!" Cornelia roared, charging, lance raised. Zero sidestepped the lance in his black Knightmare, and Cornelia quickly turned her Knightmare, drawing back her lance. "At this range I can't miss."

'Q-1, engage,' Zero ordered softly.

A red flash dropped between Cornelia and Zero, throwing up an explosion of dust as it landed. Cornelia's lance continued to thrust toward the black Knightmare at the center. Cornelia felt her reins shake in her hand as a red arm knocked the golden weapon from her mount's hands. Cornelia gave a startled yelp as she and her Gloucester were knocked backwards by something.

Cornelia paused to look up as the dust settled, revealing a new Red Knightmare.

'Let's settle this Cornelia,' Zero offered smugly, 'in the manner of the Ancient Greek Kings. Your best warrior against mine.' Cornelia ground her teeth angrily at Zero's overconfidence. _Vermin._ 'And afterwards I would like to ask you some questions.'

"I'll personally see you shot in a firing line,' Cornelia swore, her voice a hiss, 'after I run through that shoddy piece of junk you call a Knightmare." She glanced over and saw where her lance had landed. She could easily make it.

"Come and try!" replied a young girl's voice. "I'll turn that purple trash-can into slag!" The Knightmare raised its silver gauntleted hand.

"Guilford, continue to press the attack on the JLF," Cornelia ordered into the radio. "I'll join you in a few minutes."

" _Milady, I would join you, but we're pinned down by the Black Knights and some new units that arrived from outside the battle."_

'It seems General Tohdoh has joined us,' Zero noted. 'Your army is being destroyed as we speak.' Cornelia gave a shout and charged for her lance. The red Knightmare merely turned its head to watch her as she drew the lance from the ground.

"Get back Zero!" Cornelia ordered, blood thirst edging her voice. "You won't be getting a quick death on the battlefield. Only the execution stand is good enough for you." Zero slowly obliged, rolling away.

'By all means,' Zero said softly. 'Capture Cornelia slowly.'

Cornelia charged with a shout, thrusting forward with her spear. Her crimson opponent caught the lance in its metal hand as easily as catching a twig on the wind. Cornelia was jerked forward in her cockpit as her Gloucester stopped, held back in its tracks.

"What?" Cornelia breathed, stunned. The sound of whooshing air accompanied sudden waves of visible heat held in the Knightmare's red hand, and the golden lance quickly expanded like a hot balloon. The Knightmare quickly backed off and the lance literally blew up in Cornelia's Knightmare's hands.

Cornelia quickly raised her assault rifle and fired. The red unit merely raised its hand again and the bullets exploded harmlessly against the waves of radiation. Before Cornelia could react it charged again, drawing a knife with two blades and stabbed the assault rifle and ripped it from the Gloucester's hands and punched away Cornelia again.

"I won't be so easily defeated by the likes of you!" She raged at the machine and fired her last remaining slash harkens. The Knightmare simply caught them both in its silver hand and cut the lines of both with its golden knife.

Cornelia was completely disarmed now. She couldn't believe it. Her, the second princess of Britannia, beaten by an eleven with not a drop of noble blood in her. Secretly Cornelia had always thought she could one day lose a duel, but always to an extra-ordinary man of a savage warrior nobility. But by a girl...

"HOW?" Cornelia demanded, her voice sounding broken.

'I accept your unconditional surrender,' Zero answered smoothly. Shame and rage welled up in Cornelia at the very words. She narrowed her eyes at the red unit before her.

"I never surrender," Cornelia declared proudly. "This battle will only end when I'm dead or you are." She charged again, preparing to swing her last good hand at the red Knightmare. She was beaten against the wall of the trench in a few quick moves, both her arms severed at the shoulder.

'You should accept your fate with dignity,' Zero recommended.

"Good bye, Euphie," Cornelia said into her radio. She readied herself to ram her enemy.

" _Cornelia! Help is coming!"_

"Zero, the white Knightmare! Gah-" Zero turned to see a Burai explode and the white Knightmare jumped over the wall and land in the trench with Zero and the Guren.

0.0.0

C felt the change through her ethereal senses. Her friend's voice rang in her mind like a hundred tiny bells.

"At last," she breathed, "the end of the beginning. Now the true game for eternity is being played." She pulled a wild flower from near where she sat. She studied the imperfections, absorbing their beauty. "I wonder which path Lelouch will take."

0.0.0 (Rapidly changing POVs here with no scene changes.)

Kallen spun to face the white machine as it lunged towards her Guren, sword drawn. She blocked its first attack and two machines paused to face each other. Kallen felt something click home. As if the Guren couldn't exist if this unit didn't also.

Lelouch didn't feel the same in his command Burai.

"This machine **again?"** he angrily demanded into the open air. "Q-1, destroy that unit! It's interfered in our plans for the last time!"

"Roger!" Kallen replied. Ohgi opened fire from atop the trench and forced the white machine to block with its shields, backing away to avoid getting hit by Kallen. Kallen lunged to close the distance, lighting up her Radiant Wave Surger. She eyed the ammo count and cursed softly. Only two rounds after this.

Suzaku blocked the waves of energy, his green glass shield clashing with the red aura violently. Suzaku heard minor alarms going off. The shield wasn't keeping out all of the damage from the red Knightmare's hand weapon. Suzaku broke away and swung the mvs at the enemy.

Kallen caught the sword blade in her fork knife and twisted. The sword spun from the white knight's hand. It raised its rifle at point blank. Kallen rushed to block the muzzle with her silver gauntlet just in time for the rifle to fire into the hand. The round detonated inside the barrel of the rifle. Both Knightmares looked down at the rifle and back to each other.

The two exploded apart again and the knight drew its final sword, swinging. The red lotus answered by thrusting with its fork knife, the two blades locking in the middle.

Lelouch couldn't fathom. The two were too closely matched. Kallen couldn't take out the white knight. He glanced at the purple Knightmare sitting in the dirt nearby. _I can at least take Cornelia,_ he told himself. He moved toward Cornelia with his rifle raised.

"Zero get back!" Kallen's shout drew his attention back to see the Knight charging around the Guren for him. The Guren caught the white machine about the neck with is bare metal gauntlet, and the two machines grappled again, until the knight broke free. Heading straight for Lelouch.

"No!" Kallen shouted. Zero turned and tried to run away from the white Knightmare. Kallen chased after both of them.

Ohgi was suddenly driven off by assault rifle fire. He looked up to see Cornelia's guard approaching. He was alone. He had no choice but to run now. For the life of him, he never thought why they didn't chase him.

"This bastard ruins my plans over and over," he raged to himself. His Burai lurched underneath him and fell over, spinning to where Lelouch was starting at the Burai's severed leg. His auto-eject activated, throwing him face first into his cockpit's screen. The only thing that hurt worse was the landing.

"Crap," Kallen said as she saw her energy level. "I'm running on an empty energy filler!" She screamed as the Guren died beneath her, forcing her arms straight as the machine fell on its face and rolled on its side. The cockpit opened with a pneumatic hiss and she spilled onto her back, gasping. Then rolled onto her hands and knees and threw up at the sudden landing. She groaned as she rose and ran after Zero on foot.

Suzaku pulled the Lancelot to a stop as Zero crawled from his ejected cockpit. He had only a sword in his machine's hands. But he could still capture Zero. He blinked when he saw green hair. The girl from the trailer was walking straight at the Lancelot.

"Don't even think of killing him. He cannot die yet!" the girl called. Suzaku blinked at the lack of concern in her voice. It was more like the girl was stating fact.

Kallen paused as she saw C touch the white machine's leg with her single bare hand. What the hell was she doing?

'Are you using Geass on him?' Lelouch asked, eying the suddenly frozen machine.

"Get out of here. I can't hold him forever." Lelouch blinked at the idea.

'Don't be foolish. I can't have you captured either,' Lelouch reminded, touching her shoulder.

"NO!"

C.C.C.

Where the hell was he? His surroundings had been replaced by a small village. Pre-Renaissance architecture, mostly thatch roofs on top of simple stone and mortar buildings. But the only thing that was in color was a tiny human being crawling on the ground. Lelouch walked towards the figure. Lelouch couldn't tell if it was a he or she but he saw malnutrition. He decided it was a girl, judging by the long hair that was a very light blonde, edging towards pink somehow at the ends.

The ghostly form of a nun passed through Lelouch towards the girl and leaned down, offering a hand. The girl took the hand.

" _You seem to have a reason for living,"_ the nun said, her voice echoing in Lelouch's mind. _"If you promise to grant my one wish, I can give you power. If you accept this contract, then you accept it's conditions."_ Lelouch recoiled, recognizing the words. Geass. The nun was giving the girl Geass.

"Yes, Please." the girl begged weakly.

"What is your name, my dear?"

The girl said her name, and Lelouch felt the world shift.

Now standing before a large stone church. Villagers were screaming at the building, brandishing sharp tools and burning torches. Lelouch gasped behind his helmet as he saw two adult men drag out a naked girl who was bleeding from her ribs. A girl with green hair. A loud voice called out the name again. Lelouch looked over to see a large post with a number of wooden bundles and oak oil drums around a post.

"You are hereby accused of witchcraft." Lelouch's eyes widened. Geass.

"What the hell was your Geass?" he asked aloud. No one could hear him.

C was quickly tied to the post and several torches thrown at the pile. The people ran away from the flames to observe from a distance. C began to scream.

"Stop it!" Lelouch shouted. He ran forward to help, the flames not touching him. He grabbed C's arm to untie her and her screams stopped. He looked into her face.

"You're not supposed to be in here," she declared calmly, disturbing Lelouch. Lelouch fell backwards scream-

C.C.C.

-Screaming as Kallen tackled him as the Lancelot was suddenly engaged by a JLF Burai. A rogue machine gun round hit C in the chest and sent her flying into Kallen and Lelouch. Lelouch got to his feet and began to pull her over his shoulder. Kallen quickly helped him and they ran from the skirmish.

"Ohgi, have our forces retreat to the third Rally Point. It's a draw."

0.0.0

"She's over five-hundred years old," Lelouch finally said. Kallen looked up from wringing C's bloody outfit in a small pool in their hiding cave. Kallen looked over her shoulder at C, naked beneath Lelouch's cape, her wound healing unnaturally fast.

"How?" Kallen asked, disbelieving. Lelouch glanced at C and back to Kallen.

"I don't know yet," Lelouch declared, kneeling by Kallen. "It sounds foolish, but that girl might be the most important thing in the world today." Kallen set the wet clothes aside and looked up into Lelouch's face from her sitting position.

"I couldn't beat the white Knightmare," Kallen noted, glumly. Lelouch looked back into her eyes.

"I couldn't capture Cornelia," Lelouch noted, glumly. He adjusted to sitting cross-legged on the cave floor.

"For what it's worth, I'm sorry I killed Clovis before you could ask him about your mother," Kallen said, sincerely. Lelouch raised an eyebrow at her, frowning.

"No you're not."

"You're right, I'm not," Kallen admitted, smiling. Lelouch smirked and gave an amused snort.

"He probably didn't know anything," Lelouch admitted. "And to be honest, if Cornelia knew anything, she probably would've told me when I was younger."

"Really?" Kallen asked, surprised. Lelouch paused.

"No." C eyed Lelouch from the corner of her eye, seeing the pair's backs to her. Lelouch blinked at a thought.

"You know I understand enough to want to help you avenge your mom," Kallen admitted finally. "But why were you really doing this?" Lelouch met Kallen's eyes again.

"Nunnally," Lelouch said simply. "If I can create a world where Nunnally can find lasting happiness I don't really care what happens to me."

"She could find happiness in this world," Kallen noted meaningfully.

"She's living a lie that she's a normal girl in a high-school. In four years, she'll be in the real world. As Britannia runs things, that world is overflowing with suffering. And I can't change the fact that she can't walk, and she'll never open her eyes." Lelouch frowned as despair rolled inside him.

"My dad could help. There are procedures, and we have money."

"I have seven-hundred and fifty thousand crowns spread across the world in banks," Lelouch noted with a straight face. Kallen's eyes shot wide, jaw dropping.

"WHAT?!"

"What, you think I play chess with nobles for my health?"

"What are you doing in a school like Ashford then?!" Kallen demanded.

"It's safe, free, and I get to speak with people my own age," Lelouch explained quickly. "Mostly it's savings for a rainy day."

"How bad is a rainy day in your mind?" Kallen asked, exasperated.

"My father is the most powerful man in the world and I would light him on fire if he were drowning in the ocean." The prince set his helmet in his lap, sighing. "Rivalz only arranges the chess for pocket money. He's probably set for life with his trust fund. I take 90% of all winnings. I consulted plenty of doctors. Read plenty of papers. There's not much that can be done for Nunnally and keep her safe." Lelouch looked into the pool of water and sighed again.

"I've felt powerless plenty of times, but before I got this Geass, I was really hopeless," Lelouch admitted. "I'm not important. I'm just another clever boy. I can be replaced. Nunnally..." he trailed off.

"She's special," Kallen finished, understanding. Silence fell into the cave. A drop sounded like thunder as it landed.

"You've been listening to most of that, haven't you?" Lelouch asked loudly.

"How could I possibly sleep with all this talking going on?" C asked from behind Lelouch and Kallen.

"I saw you getting burned alive," Lelouch declared. "I want answers."

"You won't get them today, and certainly not for seven hundred thousand crowns." Lelouch frowned even more deeply, irritated.

"You have a bad habit of eaves dropping," Lelouch declared. He added her name. Kallen blinked at the name, glancing at C. "But," he added. "Thank you. For saving my life. I won't say it again...so... Thank you." Kallen winced and stood, walking towards the entrance of the cave.

"Can you show your appreciation?" C asked tenderly. Lelouch raised an eyebrow, intrigued. Kallen stiffened, pausing. "Can you say it again? As if you cherished it with all you heart?" Lelouch understood quickly. He mentally prepared himself.

C was smiling as he said the name. Kallen felt jealously light up her insides.

"That was terrible," C said, still smiling. "It was cold. And you said it oddly."

"Are all women this picky?" Lelouch retorted coldly.

"This is why I prefer C," the witch sighed, standing.

"And why were you naked when they burned you?" Lelouch added, unsettled. Kallen spun round, angry.

"What the hell did you see?!"

"Long story," C declared. "And you're not ready to hear it," she told Lelouch.


	13. Chapter 13

The Demon and the Red Moon

Disclaimer: Code Geass is not owned by me and this is a non-profit work of fiction. Please support the official release of Season 1.

Special treat at the end of the fanfic. Before that, However, I would like to involve you, my hopefully still with me audience! Make your opinion matter on the sound off.

 **Q: Do you think Lelouch will be able to turn Mao around to his side now that he's not romantically attached to C?**

Be sure to factor in things like Lelouch's motivations and fears.

Behind the Mask

Kallen frowned to herself as she picked up her bookbag. Lelouch hadn't been in class the last two days. Ever since Narita. Kallen remembered the way Lelouch and C had talked. About whatever Lelouch had seen when he touched the witch. Kallen felt her chest heat up with anger and stalked to her next class. She paused as she saw the shortcut to the Student Council building. She looked between the hallway to class and the way towards where Lelouch was. Probably snogging that green-haired bitch, too.

Kallen blinked at the thought. She felt unusually...possessive of Lelouch.

"Something wrong Kallen?" Euphie asked as she passed the redhead.

"Just wondering about Lelouch. He's been missing the past few days." Kallen frowned at Euphie and back towards the council building. "I'll be at class in a minute. I wanna check something out."

The walk over to the student council room gave Kallen unneeded time for thought. The prince had probably called in sick to engage in a love orgy. She knocked on the door to Lelouch's apartment a little too hard. Kallen winced and waited, biting her lower lip.

"Why the hell am I nervous?" Kallen asked just as the door opened.

"Miss Kallen?" Sayoko answered, uncertain.

"Oh," Kallen stuttered, embarrassed. "Um. I was wondering why Lelouch wasn't in school today." Sayoko smiled in understanding.

"Master Lelouch has been very busy the past few days, that's all." Kallen absorbed Sayoko's vague explanation.

"Sayoko!" came Lelouch's call. "I'm going to take a bath real quick." Kallen's eyes narrowed with suspicion.

"Did you need him for something?" Sayoko asked.

"No, that's okay," Kallen growled. "I wouldn't want him to miss his bath." She spun and immediately bumped into C.

"Oh, it's you," C noted, monotonously.

"Yeah it's me. Who were you expecting?" Kallen growled. C didn't react to Kallen's impolite manner.

"No one. I just had to be here in time for a nice long bath," C commented nonchalantly. Kallen looked over her shoulder to see the door had been closed. So Lelouch and C were **bathing.** Wasn't that...nice. "You know, you two won't work out. It's just how the world works." C stepped around Kallen and entered the apartment.

"We'll see, won't we?" Kallen challenged into the air.

0.0.0

Kallen ducked behind the bushes outside Asheford. It was well past ten now, and aside from the few remaining windows that were lit up, it was very dark. The windows to Lelouch's apartment were mostly dark. Kallen slipped her small black duffel bag over her shoulder. Carefully running she made it to the window. She jumped and hung from the small ledge at the bottom of the window. She pulled herself up enough to slowly open the window. She carefully pulled herself up and slipped inside.

"Kallen," came Lelouch's voice, making her jump. The light in the living room was flipped on to reveal Lelouch had just entered the room. "What are you doing here this late at night?" Kallen put her back to Lelouch, embarrassed, and glanced down at her long black coat and sneakers.

"I, uh," Kallen could barely get out.

"Could you at least close the window?" Lelouch asked quickly. Kallen blushed and slid the window closed. "Thank you. And it may seem strange but I have certain principles about breaking and entering." he walked over and closed the drapes.

"Is C here?" Lelouch smirked at Kallen's question, contently.

"She decided to spend her night elsewhere," Lelouch explained, pleased.

"I see," Kallen replied, still blushing.

"Kallen?" Lelouch asked, turning Kallen's head. "What's in the bag?"

"Oh!" kallen remembered and unslung the bag to open a small pocket on the side. She withdrew a disc and two packets of food. "Popcorn," she said, offering the packets, "and movie." Lelouch smirked and accepted both items, reading the label on the disc.

"Date?" Lelouch asked, amused. "Very persistent, Kallen."

"I thought you'd appreciate it," Kallen added, trying to sound attractive.

"Lelouch?" came Nunnally's voice. Lelouch sighed and put a finger over his lips at Kallen. He headed to the door back the way he came.

"Need something Nunnally?" Lelouch asked, opening the door.

"Is someone here? I heard you talking." Kallen winced. Nunnally sounded awful, congested and nasal.

"Were we too loud? Kallen stopped by." Lelouch walked over to Nunnally's bedside and retrieved an empty glass.

"Kallen's here?" Nunnally asked and Lelouch filled the glass with tap water.

"Hi, Nunnally," Kallen greeted weakly. "Have you been sick?"

"Dumb question," Nunnally replied, reminding Kallen of Lelouch. "I've had a flu for a couple of days now. Sayoko couldn't keep up with me so Lelouch helped out. I'm starting to feel better now though."

"Your water is full," Lelouch said, setting the glass noisily down. "Try to get some sleep Nunnally, okay?" Nunnally coughed violently and laid out with a deep sigh.

"Yeah, right," Nunnally groaned.

"Good night, Nunnally," Kallen cooed, sympathetic. The pair left the sickly princess in her room, moving into Lelouch's room. Kallen could smell the built-up sweat on Lelouch. Which reminded her...

"How was your bath?" she asked accusingly.

"I haven't had one," Lelouch replied curtly. "I tried earlier but C stole it. Then I was too busy taking care of Nunnally. Kallen's brain clicked in realization.

"I'm sorry," Kallen began. "I thought something else was going on. I think I have to go." Lelouch turned, confusion written on his face.

"Kallen what is going on?" he demanded. "This showing up in the dark, asking odd questions about my bathing habits. Is there some new rumor going on I don't know about?" Kallen winced, frozen.

"I thought after the cave you and C were getting closer," she admitted, and breathed a sigh of relief that the thought was out now.

"I see," Lelouch said, not understanding. Kallen looked over her shoulder at him, curious. His eyes widened suddenly. "Oh! No. Quite the opposite. She and I are purely professional."

"Glad to hear it," Kallen said, looking away mortified. Lelouch noticed her long black coat and sneakers with no socks.

"Would you like to take off your coat?" Lelouch offered. Kallen blushed unseen to Lelouch. Kallen looked over to the door to Lelouch's bathroom.

"You should go take a shower. I'll be here when you get out," she said, not facing him. Lelouch made a thoughtful noise and took went to the bathroom. Kallen exhaled. She toed her sneakers off of her feet and set them beside the bedside table. When the shower started she unbuttoned her coat. Sliding it off her shoulders she revealed the pink panties and lacy bra that she wore beneath. Her hair was down and she pulled a small brush from her bag to handle it quickly.

Setting her brush down she looked over Lelouch's bed. How was she going to appear when he got out? Lounging across it, waiting for him? Underneath the covers? She crawled across it and laid down, trying to do a sexy pose. Her face was on fire she was blushing so hard. She quickly rolled off and grabbed her cell, texting.

Milly this is Kallen. I'm trying to look hot for a guy, what do I do?

She set the phone aside for a second, breathing heavily. Her phone made a sound.

M: Am I talking to Kallen STADTFELD?

Yes! Help plz!

M: Wat r u wearing?

"Oh come on!" Kallen hissed quietly.

Pink!

M: Pink what?;)

U kno what! Plz milly!

M: Is it Lelouch?

Kallen threw a hand over her face, exasperated.

None of ur business!

M: I can't help u then. :(

U suck!

M: Is it Lulu?

Promise not to tell!

M: Not a chance, spill.

yes. Wat do I do?

Kallen's jaw dropped at the next text Milly sent.

"No way!" she yelped.

"Kallen? You okay?" Lelouch called from the shower.

"I'm fine," she called back, still blushing. She looked over the bed again and thought to herself. "Okay," she told herself quietly. "I know what to do."

When Lelouch left the bathroom he had a towel around his waist and another on his head. He saw Kallen laying under the covers in his bed. Her black coat was discarded. The scent of perfume hit his nose as he entered the room.

"Hi, Lulu," Kallen said, cheerfully. "I was feeling kinda sleepy wondering if I could just stay the night here." Lelouch narrowed his eyes, suspicious. He walked over and checked her black bag. Her school uniform was inside.

"You came prepared," Lelouch noted. Kallen didn't answer, pulling the covers over her mouth. "Give me a moment. And I'll sleep on the floor." he grabbed a pair of pajamas and boxers and went back to the bathroom to replace the towel.

"We can share, I'm not that big," Kallen offered, muffled by the sheets. "It'll be fine, I promise." Lelouch shrugged and slipped beneath the covers after turning the light off. He pulled the covers over himself, joining Kallen.

Kallen scooted over to curl up against Lelouch. Lelouch eyes went wide at the texture against his arm. Her arm stomach pressed against his forearm while lacy mounds hugged his meager biceps. Lelouch could feel a small ribbon in the shape of a bow against the back of his hand. Lelouch was silent as the extra body heat caused a reaction below his stomach.

"Do you like it?" Kallen whispered in his ear. Lelouch turned to meet Kallen's eyes. Before he could speak she curled her hand around the back of his head, pulling him into a light kiss. Lelouch pulled back just enough to speak.

"Kallen, wha-mmh" Lelouch was interrupted as she kissed him again, harder. She grabbed his other hand and pulled it to touch her chest. "Kallen hold on. If this is something you feel-mh" interrupted again by the press of her hot mouth to his. He gave a protesting note and rolled away landing on his feet. Flipping on the light, he looked back and saw what she was wearing. He tried to look away, politely.

"Kallen," he began clearing his throat. "I don't want to pressure you into something you feel you have to do." The prince internally grimaced as he realized if Kallen looked down she could see his body's reaction.

"No," Kallen said, breathy. "I want to," Lelouch crossed his arms, nervously. Trying to keep her attention on his chest and up. The prince saw the redhead nervously eye his pajama pants and inhale strongly.

"I'm...sure. And part of me wants to also," he trailed off, racking his brain for what to say. "Uh, maybe I should...there's a spare bedroom I think."

"Don't go," Kallen begged.

"It's just," he stuttered out, mortified, "there's a lot of pressure on young people sometimes. And it can be dangerous. And," he saw Kallen's body again and eyed the ceiling nervously, making a uncertain sound.

"Is there something wrong?" Lelouch blinked at the question. Was there something wrong with her?

"No!" Lelouch said emphatically. "No. It's just..." Lelouch sighed, letting go. "I haven't had..."

"Oh," Kallen realized. "Um, me neither."

"Yeah." The prince said, lost for words.

"Yeah," Kallen added, looking down.

"Don't know what to do," Lelouch added, softly.

"Well you could just come back," the girl proposed. "We can find out." Lelouch considered this then removed his pajamas. Flipping out the light, he slid into the bed in only his boxers. He was in a sitting position and Kallen adjusted to sit beside him, facing him. Lelouch met her sapphire eyes. They were even prettier in the soft blue light. Kallen was trembling softly.

"You're shaking," he whispered.

"I'm just kind of scared," she admitted. Lelouch just leaned in. Kallen met him in the middle, gently kissing. He reached up and curled his hand around her side, making Kallen gasp softly. The two adjusted without a thought to a laying down position. Lelouch continued to kiss Kallen, halfway on top of her, on his stomach. She put the hand under him on his chest. Her other hand she laid over his hand on her side, holding it gently. The broke the kiss, breathing heavily.

Lelouch began to lower the hand from his side down her flat stomach. Kallen's hand continued to rest on his. He carefully slipped his fingers underneath her panties and moved down, feeling the slightly coarse hair. Kallen's hand stroked his gently.

"Please keep going," Kallen whispered. Lelouch kissed Kallen again, softly. He lowered his hand further and brushed the edge of Kallen's core. Lelouch broke the kiss and began to lower his mouth down to her neck, placing tiny kisses in a trail down her collarbone. Kallen's hand moved from his chest to his shoulder and neck, encouraging.

Lelouch's unused hand slipped behind Kallen's back. She knew what he wanted and slipped her hand from below behind her to help him undo her top undergarments. When the device was unlatched Kallen removed it. Lelouch put his mouth on the exposed skin, still kissing gently.

Kallen arched as Lelouch's lower hand brushed her harder. A gasp escaped her.

"I'm sorry," Lelouch apologized reflexively.

"No, it's good," Kallen told him. Emboldened Lelouch's lower hand went further, exploring. Kallen mewled a small whine. His free hand moved to Kallen's top, touching the tender skin. Kallen lowered her panties, freeing Lelouch's hand. Sliding them down one of her legs she quickly removed the garment. She twisted and snaked her foot under Lelouch, putting him firmly between her legs, and reached down with both hands.

Lelouch raised up above Kallen as she removed his boxers. The last resistance between them came away easily, kicked off. The Prince lowered himself down onto the rebel, feeling the heat exchanged between them. Lelouch kissed Kallen again. She arranged his key to enter her lock. Lelouch moved and they were together.

Kallen gave a sharp gasp, and arched against Lelouch, tears forming in the corners of her eyes.

"Stop," the breathed quickly. "No, no," Kallen said before Lelouch could retreat. "Just don't move," she pleaded in a whisper. She looked into his eyes, his face lit by the cool blue light. His amethyst orbs were filled with concern and care. She put a cradling hand on his face as her pain subsided.

"Just be gentle," she mewled to him. He carefully moved with her, and she sighed and closed her eyes. She raised her legs around him as he moved. Then the pair moved together again and again. Until they couldn't move anymore.

O.O.O

Kallen and Lelouch lay on their sides facing each other. Kallen was smiling, her eyes still watery. Lelouch just stared back, his expression at peace, her hand on his cheek, comforting. They didn't say anything. They didn't have to.

0.0.0

"Morning," Milly greeted, walking into the apartment with a smug smile. The smile of a woman who knows too much. Lelouch didn't notice the smile, working on breakfast and washing dishes at the same time.

"Morning," Lelouch replied absentmindedly. He quickly mixed a few eggs in the skillet and added some raw bacon once the scrambled eggs had been hardened and mixed again. Milly opened her mouth, surprised at how focused Lelouch was.

"Do anything special last night?" Milly asked smugly, smiling again. Lelouch paused to glance at Milly.

"No, why?" Milly frowned as Lelouch didn't react to her knowing questions.

In the other room, Kallen awoke slowly, feeling the warm sheet on the bed. She leaned up, seeing the bed empty save her. She sat up, dragging the white sheet with her and wrapping it around her like a gown. She stepped onto the carpeted floor and knelt by her duffel. She paused as she saw the black case underneath the bed.

The crimson-crowned girl looked over her shoulder at the closed door. Looking back at the case, she got a devilish grin on her face. Sliding the case out, she undid the latches and opened it, revealing Zero's outfit. She picked up the helmet and looked at the inside, holding it up against her face to see through it. Setting the mask back down. She saw the long leather cape.

She double checked the windows were draped over and picked up the cape and slid it around her bare shoulders. She spun in the cape, giggling to herself lightly. Then she pulled it closed and faced herself in the mirror.

"I, Lelouch vi Britannia," she acted in a mockingly deep voice, "I command you, all of you, Die!" she added a wave of her hand as an artful flourish then pulled it closed around her again. "And now," she continued in her play voice, "Princess Cornelia, I have some questions I'd like to ask you! I. Am. Zero!"

There was a knock at the door and Lelouch slipped in, his back towards Kallen. He closed the door and spun to see the ace pilot in nothing but a sheet and his cloak. Kallen grinned to herself. Expression: Priceless.

"And now, Prince Lelouch vi Britannia," she declared in her play voice, "I have you right where I want you." She pointed a slim arm at him and smiled. Lelouch picked up his jaw slightly and glanced over at his blood.

"This could be difficult," Lelouch admitted to himself. Kallen looked over and saw the small red stain on the bed. She gasped, jaw dropping.

"Oh my god is that from us?" She hissed, disgusted.

"I'll take care of it," Lelouch assured, looking back to Kallen. "We have another problem. Milly is here." Kallen looked back at Lelouch, alarmed. "And she knows something," Lelouch commented pointedly.

"I'm sorry," Kallen finally admitted. "I was trying to seduce you and asked her for advice. I didn't think about it being Milly."

"Just take a shower," Lelouch ordered. "I'll take care of Milly so she won't see you. Then we can just dismiss it as a prank or rumor." Kallen touched his shirted shoulder. When he looked back at her, the lunged forward and kissed him, wrapping her arms around his neck. She removed his cloak and gave it to him, heading for the shower with her duffel bag.

As soon as the door closed, Lelouch frowned and pulled the note from his pocket.

NOT THE FIRST ONE! C BELONGS TO ME!

Lelouch had found the note on his bedside table in the morning. He narrowed his eyes and looked out the draped windows. This wasn't just a warning. It was a challenge.

"Challenge Accepted," he told the world.

La fin. 0.0.0

OMAKE Code Geass, Repercussions of Geass.

Lelouch waited. The lights above him blinked and sparked out of the air. There were Britannians in the base. He didn't see them, but had expected them no for years. His warnings to Suzaku were not listened to and now it was too late. Far too late for now, anyway. Lelouch was an orphan for plenty of years. When he was young he watched the Area Eleven and he said to dad "I want to be on the Area Eleven daddy..."

Charles said "you are dead! You will be killed by ALL OF THE BRITANNIANS"

There was a time when he believed him.

Then as he got oldered he stopped. But now in the Area Eleven base of the Black Knights he knew there were Britannians.

"This is Suzaku!" the radio crackered. "you must fight the BRITANNIANS!"

so Lelouch gotted his Gaawin and blew up the wall.

"HE'S GOING TO KILL US" said the Briannians

"I will shoot at him" said the Mordred and he fire the hadron cannones. John hadroned at him and tried to blew that up.

But then the ceiling fell and they were trapped and not able to hadroned.

"No! I must obliterate the Britannians!" Lelouch shouted.

The C said "No, Lelouch. You are the Britannians"

And then Lelouch was a Zero.

And thus the T-Rated Lemons are finally done. A little more early than I wanted.

FAR TOO EARLY FOR NOW, ANYWAY.

AND THEN Kallen WAS THE HADRONED. 

Bow chicka bow wow.


	14. Chapter 14

The Demon and the Red Moon

Spinzaku Kururugi Rule 1. You do not talk about Spinzaku Kururugi.

Spinzaku Kururugi Rule 2. YOU DO NOT TALK about Spinzaku Kururugi.

Wait, did I just talk about "Spin-Oh god help me pl

Ahem, as the former author was about to say, Code Geass is owned by sunrise and this is a non-profit fanfiction. Please support the official release.

A note on Language: I assume most of the characters are always speaking English in Code Geass for two reasons. A: I heard it in the Eng Dub originally. B: It wouldn't make sense for Britannia to encourage its students to speak in the Language of the defeated Japan. I know there is Kanji on the board at school. It's stupid and not thought out. A conquering Empire like Britannia seldom uses the languages of the defeated. Minor deviation to that rule by the Romans, who conguered a latin people and stole their language, and late the Greek Rulers of Egypt assumed many of their customs, but I think the language of Egypt at the time was Greek anyway. Rome was the biggest country in the History of the World. We all wind up speaking Latin-based languages. Kinda makes more sense for a Britannian Colony to speak Britannian. Historians confirm?

 **Friendly Offers**

Suzaku poured his water bottle on his face, wincing as the cool liquid seeped through his flight suit. It failed to clean the caked on sweat from his face or body. But the mere cold of the water was enough to refresh.

Somewhat.

Suzaku frowned and thought back to seeing the green-haired girl. And then Suzaku had hallucinated. When he'd told Cecile of the dream, she'd told him it must have been some kind of nerve gas. Suzaku had been told it was the only possibility. And he'd agreed, but the vision itself gnawed him.

His father's face returned to the back of his mind.

"Suzaku," came a familiarly sweet voice. Suzaku looked to its origin to see Euphemia in her sub-viceroy's uniform.

"My Lady," he said in realization, bowing.

"Stop that," she groaned. Suzaku stood up again, and looked back at her face. Her eyes were downcast, her mouth a grim line. "You've been helping find the...remains?" Suzaku frowned and looked back at the many Knightmares clearing the dried up mud.

"I felt compelled," Suzaku explained.

"I don't understand how it happened," Euphemia admitted sorrowfully.

"Lelouch doesn't care one whit how he hurts people. All that matters are his 'results,'" Suzaku growled, curling a hand into a fist.

"What?" Euphemia asked, confusion ringing her voice. Suzaku looked back at her, raising his eyebrows. "What did you say?"

"Zero doesn't care about who he hurts," Suzaku repeated. Euphemia frowned, looking away. Her brow furrowed in deep thought and she turned away walking back down the mountain. She felt a wet 'squish' as she stepped and looked down. She winced as her boot had sunk a few inches into a still-liquid puddle.

'Look at me,' she admonished herself, ashamed. 'I'm worried about getting dirty and so many people died. I'm a stupid useless girl.' Suzaku accidentally saying 'Lelouch' couldn't have been a coincidence. A flash of orange hair drew Euphie's attention.

"Shirley?" Euphemia asked aloud. She walked quickly to where Shirley was following a dark-skinned woman. "Shirley?" she repeated louder. Shirley turned and recognized her.

"Euphie?" Shirley asked, eyes wide. Her mouth opened in surprise as she remembered. "Princess Euphemia!" She curtsied, looking down.

"Stop," Euphie hissed, slowly, "that, Shirley. I'm a friend. But why are you here?"

"We asked her to identify someone," the dark-skinned Knight said. Shirley stood straight. "Would you like to accompany us, Princess Euphemia?"

"Yes, I'll accompany you," Euphie replied, placing a comforting hand on Shirley's shoulder. The pair followed the Knight over to a large tent with a few cots. Shirley's breath began to quicken as they approached a body covered in a blanket.

"I'm here with you," Euphemia assured softly in Shirley's hear, putting her arms around her friend.

Villeta removed the sheet.

0.0.0

Lelouch frowned inside his helmet. He could hear the original rebel cell speaking in the rear of the limo, but he wasn't listening. Not even to Kallen. Instead he closed his eyes and sank into his inner mind.

"Shirley asked us to go a concert," Lelouch Lamperouge began, setting a photo of Shirley on the large chess board.

"Why?" Zero asked from behind his helmet. His voice wasn't synthesized in Lelouch's mind. The helmeted head looked back at Lelouch vi Britannia.

"She knows we're publicly involved with Kallen, right?" vi Britannia asked the other two. Zero looked back at his student mask.

'We're not publicly involved!" a specter of Kallen shouted emphatically. With a wave from Zero's hand she disappeared.

"Perhaps she asked her other friends and they were all busy?"

"Likely," Zero concurred with Lamperouge.

"And if we go to the concert it could complicate matters far beyond our ability to control." The pair looked back at vi Britannia, Zero's expression unreadable.

"Then we agree, no concert?" Zero put forward.

"So, who's Clan-Chief of Kyoto?" vi Britannia asked Zero.

"I can think of six possibilities," Zero replied.

"Five," vi Britannia corrected.

"Kururugi could have survived," Zero countered.

"A knife wound delivered from a small person? Most likely inflicted into the abdomen. Help didn't arrive within the hour. He's almost certainly dead."

"Next possibility?" Zero continued, crossing his arms.

"Kirihara."

"He owns the Sakuradite Mining in Japan. For Britannia."

Lelouch was shaken from his thoughts as the car stopped moving,.

Kallen stepped from the car, looking around the massive room. Kallen could've driven her Guren through the massive room with plenty of room. She saw the giant window and walked over, seeing the silhouette of a mountain. Her jaw dropped as she recognized the mountain.

"That's Mt. Fuji!" Tsugiyama declared, stunned.

"That's impossible!" Tamaki argued loudly.

"If that's true, that means we could all be executed," Ohgi realized aloud. "If the Britannians found us up here..."

"It's outrageous," came an elderly voice. "Mt. Fuji, once revered for its clear waters has been corrupted." Kallen spun to see an old man sitting behind a screen, hiding his face. She glared into Zero's back. Seemed to be a lot of face hiding going on.

"I apologize for concealing my identity," the old man said as if reading Kallen's irritation. "But Zero your face is covered as well. Unfortunately, I cannot allow this. To trust you, I must know your face."

'Wait,' Kallen suddenly realized. 'Zero is a Britannian Prince. And if they discover that, they might kill him and all of us.' Lelouch. Kallen stepped forward.

"Wait! Zero has given us power and victory! That should be enough!"

"Silence!" the old man answered.

'Thank you, Kallen,' Lelouch thought to himself, smiling inside his mask.

Kallen winced as four Knightmares and armed guards filed in from the darkened corners. Kallen realized they were surrounded.

'I know you have a plan,' she thought at Lelouch. 'Don't let us get killed.'

"You, the one named Ohgi, you will remove Zero's mask," the elder declared. Ohgi frowned, determined and walked up to Zero.

"Ohgi," Kallen pleaded softly.

"Sorry," Ohgi replied, not looking at her. "We need a reason to trust Zero." He lifted the helmet off of Zero's head. Kallen's heart seized up. Then lept to her throat when emerald hair cascaded from beneath the black helm.

"WHAT?!" Kallen screamed, confused.

"C? But where's Zero?" Ohgi asked loudly, just as confused.

"You're not Zero?" the sitting man asked, sighing.

"Correct, Taizo Kirihara," C replied. The armed guards recoiled, raising their smgs. Kallen stepped back, looking around for Lelouch. Had he left them to die? Then chaos erupted. The left-most Knightmare raised its rifle to the head of its partner and unloaded, blowing the head off. Moving away it fired both Slash Harkens into its neighbors and then circled directly to face Kirihara, lowering to one knee and leveling its rifle straight at him.

" _Taizo Kirihara,"_ Zero declared, exiting the Knightmare's cockpit.

"He can still fire with that remote!" One of the guards shouted. Kallen could see the small radio device in Zero's hand.

" _Also known as Taizo the Traitor. When Britannia invaded you used your positon to gain a monopoly on Sakuradite Mining and began to work for them. Secretly you began to fund the resistance as part of the Kyoto Clan. A Double agent."_ Lelouch gave a bemused snort. _"Adorable."_

"All who know of Master Kirihara must die!" one of the Guards shouted.

"Stop!" the old man ordered. His voice sounded like he recognized Zero.

" _Do you recognize me?"_

"Perhaps. Your voice has a certain something that I've not heard in years. But to truly know..." Kirihara trailed off, his face still covered by the screen.

" _Very well, I'll show you,"_ Zero conceded, still amused.

'He's just going to use his Geass on him,' Kallen realized, frowning. 'Dammit, how are we going to work together if he won't trust anyone.' Bear witness to my power instead of my face and all that. 'This is why I hate Brit-' Kallen's thoughts were stopped by the click of the helmet retracting. Zero stepped closer and knelt before Kirihara.

Lelouch removed his helmet and set it on the floor beside his knee. Then he offered his right hand to Kirihara.

"It's been a long time, old friend," Lelouch greeted, smiling. Kirihara recovered quickly, his eyes reflecting his mirth.

"A long time indeed, my young friend," he greeted, taking Zero's hand.

Lelouch thought fondly back to when Kirihara visited, playing Shogi with Lelouch in the Prime Minister's house. Kirirhara taught Lelouch the japanese chess, and later politics and the gambles of war. Lelouch had taught Kirihara chess and told him of Britannian custom. Despite his friendship with Suzaku, in Kirirhara Lelouch had found a like mind, one who thought more like himself. And Kirihara knew who Lelouch truly was. One of a few people in the whole of Japan.

"I understand why you hid behind a mask," Kirihara admitted in realization. "Her eyes haven't opened." Kirihara eyed behind the Knightmare to Lelouch's merry band.

"No. She remains as blind and naive as ever," Lelouch added.

"Now after eight years, the flower finally blooms," Kirihara commented cryptically. He gave a delighted laugh. "Ohgi! This man is a true mortal enemy of Britannia! His face must remain secret for vital reasons! In exchange you will receive our support and supplies."

"Whu," was all Ohgi could manage. "What the hell did he show Kirihara?" Kallen blinked at the whispered question. Lelouch had truly shown his face?

"Doumo arigatou gozaimasu," Lelouch said softly in flawless Japanese.

"Dou itashimasite," Kirihara replied in his mother tongue. Lelouch raised the remote and pulled the trigger.

Nothing happened.

"You bluffed?" Kirihara asked, incredulous?

"Of course I did," Lelouch replied, taking his helmet back up. "I just borrowed your own Knightmare, you think I had enough time to wire something like that up? I'm a genius, not an expert." Kirihara laughed again. Lelouch was about to set his helmet back on his head.

"Wait," Kirihara began. "This path you are embarking on. Is this the path of blood?" Lelouch smirked.

"Whatever is necessary," He assured, lowering his mask back over his face.

0.0.0

"You were just showing off," Kallen hissed as she stalked forward in the rain.

"What do you mean?" Lelouch demanded, not understanding. He'd taken the liberty to walk Kallen home. Or had been dragged that way by Kallen in a furious demand to speak to him privately.

"The remote, the bluff," she listed, angrily. She spun on him and glared into his eyes. "The japanese." Lelouch frowned.

"I used his original language as a sign of respect," Lelouch insisted.

"And why couldn't you just show us your face?" Kallen challenged. Lelouch winced, hesitating. "Nevermind, don't even try. I know the answer." Lelouch raised an eyebrow. "You don't trust us. I found out who you were and you didn't change that, but you don't trust my friends. You don't trust people that I have to trust to survive. That's like saying you don't trust me. And if you don't trust me how can we be in a relationship."

Lelouch's eyes surged open, pain showing through.

"Kallen," Lelouch started, wounded. He stepped closer, bringing his umbrella to cover her head. Kallen stepped back in response, not letting him close the distance.

"No," she told him. "If you can't trust us, then I don't want to be with you." Lelouch felt something break. He looked down, brow furrowing.

'Why did that hurt?' Lelouch vi Britannia asked inside him.

'Push it aside,' Zero ordered, in response.

'I can't,' Lelouch replied, confused. Kallen walked away, not looking back.

"Kallen!" He called after, looking up. She didn't stop.

"Kallen!" he began to walk after her. But she was quickly disappearing in the downpour. Lelouch had to break into a jog. He reached a cross walk and looked around. She was nowhere to be seen.

"Kallen!" he screamed, calling.

"Lelouch?" came Shirley's voice. Lelouch spun to see Shirley standing in the rain, her eyes echoing his own wounded state.

"Shirley?" He checked his watch, remembering. "Sorry," he said, looking up. "I had a lot on my schedule." He walked over and saw small stains on her cheeks. "I...Are you alright? Because we should probably get you indoo-"

"Why did Zero kill my father?" Shirley asked, her voice breaking. Lelouch recoiled, struck for the second time. "My father wasn't a bad man. He cared for me, and he never hurt anyone. So why? Why did Zero bury my father alive?"

'Her father must have been at Narita,' Zero explained.

'We buried Shirley's father alive,' Lelouch realized in horror.

 _Old news, what of it?_

Lelouch blinked at the memory. Father. He'd been heartless and cruel. Lelouch had never considered himself to be like his father.

Shirley had exploded into him, hugging him tight, crying into his chest.

The chess board inside his mind cracked. Zero and Lelouch vi Britannia were silent.

And then Shirley was kissing him, drawing comfort from him.

Kallen had left him. He was alone. But he was alone with Shirley.

And he was drawing comfort from Shirley in turn.

His arms went around her, dropping his umbrella.

0,0,0

Villeta stopped in front of the Asheford Academy, looking through the rain-covered windows at the school. Shirley hadn't been careful with her pictures, and Villeta had seen the boy's face. It had seemed too familiar to Villeta Nu. And she had long ago learned to trust her instincts, even if she didn't know what they thought.

She stepped from the car and drew her think coat about herself carefully. If Princess Euphemia went here, she'd have to be careful. Princess Cornelia was a lot more dangerous an opponent than Villeta needed. Now that Jeremiah was gone.

'So what,' Villeta told herself. 'Quel and Gottwald got themselves killed like idiots. If I have to leap through fire to get ahead, I can at least be smart about it.' Then again Villeta felt like the whole school was a minefield waiting to be tripped.

"Ah ah ah," came a strange voice. Villeta looked toward the voice and saw a strange man in a white coat approaching. "I know what you're thinking. Big Bad Zero has to be caught. But it's not enough to just catch a wolf, you have to prove he's dangerous, right?" Villeta took a step back.

'This guys a few rounds short of-'

"Few rounds short of a pistol?" the man finished for her, making Villeta's eyes widen. "Can't say I've heard that one before, but I do appreciate originality. Especially considering my own."

"My name's Mao," the white-haired weirdo replied, answering Villeta's question before she could even speak it. "And I think we can help each other. Shirley wasn't very excited to work with me, but you and I are more similar."

'What does this guy-'

"What I want is very simple," he interrupted, answering her prematurely again. "She hasn't really got a name, but she's working with your new favorite prey. What do you say the three of us get him together?"

0.0.0

"Shirley! Where the hell have you been?" Milly demanded, oozing worry. She paused when Lelouch followed Shirley inside.

"She needs to get warm," Lelouch ordered, back to being Lelouch Lamperouge. He headed upstairs, trying not to think. For him practically an impossibility.

Once he'd entered his bedroom he dropped the mask. Enraged he found himself punching the door after he'd closed it. He shattered a few dozen glasses by smashing them off his dresser. Slammed the butt of his hand on his dresser. He saw his black case beneath his bed.

"You're the evil!" He told it. He picked the case up and unlatched it, dumping it on the floor. Gripping the helmet, he hefted it and three it at the wall. The plastic and metal mask hit the wall and shattered with a loud crack and fell to the floor in two equal pieces. Lelouch felt weak and dropped to the floor on his knees. Around him lay the scattered purple and black of Zero.

'I'm you, you idiot,' Zero told him. 'You knew it would happen. The only ones who should kill are those who are prepared to be killed.

'Recognize those words? They're your own.'

'I hate you,' Lelouch told him.

'Hate me? **I kept you alive.** Remember? Remember when we drug ourselves through the dirt when you only found enough food for Nunnally? When Milly found us, half-dead and crying? You thought you did it because Nunnally would die? I gave you the strength to continue.'

'You killed Shirley's father. You killed hundreds of innocent people.'

'You did, too. And Kallen helped. So what does that make us?'

'I'm a demon,' Lelouch realized, guilt washing over him like a swell.

'The Demon, and the Red Moon who helped him,' Zero replied. 'You know a better world won't just appear without pain and suffering. You have to destroy the old world first. Who better than a Demon?' Lelouch opened his eyes and saw something. A tiny pink bow, partially obscured by the overlapped folds of his costume. He moved them away to see Kallen's pink underwear.

She was gone, and now it was too late. The pain in him began again. He'd made a mistake. He hadn't trusted the people he'd fought alongside. He'd left Ohgi to die, to save his own skin. He hadn't trusted his comrades. He'd given them chores for his army.

The one person he had let in had left him. He'd see her again but only as his pawn. She'd left Lelouch. He carefully picked up her panties and felt the texture. He felt wrong to even touch them now, but he didn't want to let the garment go, because then he would have truly let Kallen go.

And he couldn't face Shirley again. Not after he'd...

"Lelouch," came C's voice from behind him. "What-"

"Kallen told me she didn't want to be with me as Lelouch," he explained, not looking at her. "Because I didn't trust them. And I found that Zero killed Shirley's father by burying him alive."

0.0.0

Answering Reviews: Honestly a lot of thoughts on how Mao would turn out but nobody thought the way that I was about the Characters involved. So very interesting there.

Zer0: Dude, late-night writing and surfing 4chan do not mix.

Ryder77: Yeah it was way early.


	15. Chapter 15

**The Demon and the Red Moon**

 _Diclaimer: Code Geass is owned by Sunrise. Please support the official release._

Part of this was written/co-written/edited by ryder77, and that person is awesome. Writes solely Code Geass and lots of good stuff.

 **Bloody-handed**

Lelouch peeled the wetsuit from his torso and set down with a deep exhale. His muscles screamed at him. He slipped the goggles off of his neck and set beside him, frowning. The prince grabbed a towel and wiped the salt-water from his hair and face. He let the towel hang over his head like a shroud.

He winced and recalled the funeral for Shirley's father. Lelouch hadn't had the heart to look Shirley in the face. Just like in the rain, he'd pushed her away. He'd been distantly aware of Kallen standing beside him.

When her hand had landed on his shoulder, Lelouch had stiffened at the comforting gesture. The demon didn't deserve it.

"Zero?" came Kallen's call. Lelouch put a hand to shade his face in case she wasn't alone.

"Who's there?" Lelouch questioned loudly.

"It's just me," Kallen replied, downcast. Lelouch almost eased himself. Instead he looked away, leaning back against the crate behind him. "You were quiet at the funeral," she commented, walking closer. Lelouch didn't reply, grim-faced.

"You called me Zero," Lelouch commented. "Am I not Lelouch to you anymore?"

"What?" Kallen replied, confused.

"Nevermind. You should get to your post we'll be ready soon." Lelouch stood and faced away from Kallen. He heard Kallen's retreating footsteps. Lelouch opened his black case and gazed down at the replacement helmet.

"There's no need to turn back," he reminded himself.

'No,' Zero corrected. 'There's no reason to turn back. If you stop, you die.'

"The die has been cast," Lelouch declared. He gripped his mask in one hand and pulled it free from the black case.

0.0.0

Shirley peeked around the corner of a darkened shipping container. She leaned back and glanced at Villeta screwing a thin metal tube to the end of her pistol slowly. The ebony knight smirked to herself. Shirley frowned at Villeta's expression and went back to scanning the harbor complex. She could see the Black Knights sneeking around. Shirley ducked back as a curly-headed man with a red headband glanced her way.

"Are you sure Zero will be here?" Shirley asked softly.

"Mao said so. He might be crazy, but he's never been wrong about these things," Villeta replied, drawing Shirley's gaze again. Villeta was thumbing her pistol, her eyes narrowed with dark glee.

0.0.0

General Katase was in his office when the Britannian's began their assault. The boat had begun to move. Still, Katase knew they were cornered. Kyoto had told him the JLF would be getting rescued by Zero. But where were they? Where was Tohdoh?

'General Katase.' growled the radio. Katase swiftly grabbed it.

"Yes," he spoke into the radio. "Zero? Have you come to save us?"

'Of course,' the radio replied, carefully. 'I just wanted to speak to you before hand.'

"Before what? We're being taken apart! We're being slaughtered like pigs!"

'More like bait,' the radio corrected quickly. 'So why did the JLF never act sooner? You didn't even react to my great debut.'

"We didn't have the strength to attack Britannia," Katase defended. "We were outmanned, outgunned, out maneuvered."

'No,' Zero corrected over the radio. 'You were incompetent. I defeated Clovis in the open field with nothing before I even knew what I was doing. I even had the courage to engage Cornelia. And I didn't let that first defeat stop me.

'I salute your sacrifice. With the final death of the JLF we will rebuild a better Japan. If I give you one last chance to strike Britannia, will you take it? Will you help us defeat Cornelia now?'

"Yes," Katase declared. "Just help us! We will sacrifice our lives to defeat Britannia."

'Goodbye, then.' With a soft click over the radio, Katase, the last JLF, the boat they were being slaughtered on, and the eight Knightmares who had boarded it were incinerated by the explosion.

0.0.0

Waiting for Zero's signal to deploy, Kallen grasped the controls firmly, her determination to see this through strong in spite of the doubts that plagued her. A large part of her had reasons to not want to be here. The other part argued just as strongly that those exact reasons were why she should.

She left Lelouch because he didn't trust her fellow resistance members ― her family. Yet, she couldn't simply stop fighting for him (Zero? Lelouch?). They trusted him to help win against Britannia, and she had to admit that she still trusted his genuine hate for Britannia.

Lelouch blamed her for Shirley's father's death. While this was mostly supposition on her part (he stiffened at her touch during the burial, refusing to even look at her), she was strongly aware that they both knew it was her hand that triggered that landslide.

The same hand that killed Clovis.

Despite his words, maybe he actually resented her for it. And now this.

(She had turned around in that rain, thinking perhaps she had been too hasty in her judgment of him. Then she saw the two of them embrace, then kiss. Two people hurting finding solace in each other.)

She shook her head at the memory. What did she care for who he kissed (loved)? She was the one who walked away.

Then came the guilt. The reality that the fruits of their actions aren't all good for everyone, after all. She had reached out at the burial, needing someone who understood what she was feeling. The hurt that came when he stiffened, refusing her.

But deep down, she understood. His (and her own) desire for revenge, his (her) desire to protect what family he (she) had left, his (her) will to survive to see their (not his?) revolution through.

Their guilt for having sacrificed the lives of innocents.

Ultimately, their paths ran side-by-side, their goals led towards the same direction, and though their hearts might not beat for each other at present, they beat to the same rhythm. He somehow overcame his guilt and found his resolve to carry on his crusade, and she knew she was glad of it.

And so, though he might never hear it, she declared it for herself.

"I'll walk down this path with you, Lelouch. Forward. Together."

Her vow. Her truth.

And the world beneath them shuddered.

0.0.0

At the order 12 Knightmares burst forth from shipping containers placed hours before the Britannians even arrived. Lelouch pushed forward on the reins, charging. As predicted his first salvo had eliminated half of the Britannian Knightmare force. His earlier victory at Narita had cost Cornelia dearly with the landslide.

Cornelia must have been desperate when she'd heard the news of the JLF escape route. Had they disappeared, they would've eventually come back stronger. She'd commited a very small force, not knowing the Black Knights had been alerted.

"Battles are won and lost by intelligence," he shouted to himself, shoving a Britannian Sutherland into Tokyo Bay. Lelouch didn't bother to fire into the water, wasted ammo. The pilot might not drown in the time before they pulled him out, but he was no longer a threat. He yanked the reins back to fire at another Knightmare and punched holes in the Sutherland's cockpit block.

"Damn you!" came Cornelia's shouted curse. Lelouch spun to see Cornelia's Gloucester charging with its lance. Then just as suddenly Kallen's red blur gripped the violet machine and threw it down with a modified choke-slam.

Lelouch wouldn't remember what happened next. Kallen had moved to dodge an offensive slash harken. The harken had been fired by Guilford in his mistress's defense. The rocket anchor struck Lelouch's command Burai and ruptured one of the fuel tanks for its ejection system.

Lelouch's burai's safety system had declared this a master alarm and inititated the ejection system, throwing Lelouch away from his intended quarry. The ruptured tank fired just the same as the other three rocket engines, but instead threw the cockpit into a spin. The first thing Lelouch had done was pass out from his head hitting the screen of his Burai. His helmet had done more harm than good.

0.0.0

Kallen turned the Guren's controls to the left to launch the Guren's silver manipulator into the purple Gloucester. Guilford tried to fall back from its reach, but the Guren's arm was longer than he had anticipated.

"Let me see you burst!" With a roar she pulled the long trigger bar of the Guren's right rein. The wave surger flooded the purple machine with humming red energies and it immediately began to expand as the massive radiation affected its armor. The Gloucester's golden lance shot up and the exposed prongs pinched around the silver limb.

Kallen gasped at the action. With a great heave her violet enemy lifted both weapons above the Knightmares. Kallen raised her fork knife almost instinctively to knock the assault rifle, that had been leveled toward her, away. Then she drove the knife straight into the visor and helmet of the enemy Knightmare with a shout.

Before she could breathe easier she saw Cornelia coming at her again.

"This is my range!" she declared pulling her Guren's weapon right arm free. But the RWS didn't cycle a new round into its microwave chamber. She gave it a sideways glance and saw that the spent cell hadn't been properly ejected, probably had been blocked by Guilford's lance. But the aforementioned Knight wasn't available to harass Kallen anymore. No Knightmare functioned without a factsphere, and Guilford had none.

Kallen dodged Cornelia's thrusted spear. She wasn't in danger of being attacked. The Black Knights were winning this skirmish. Even the Britanian infantry was being held at bay thanks to Ohgi leading a campaign of suppressive rifle fire.

But her weapon arm was malfunctioning. If she weren't tied up by Cornelia she could force it to finish cycling manually. She wasn't going to run though. Lelouch wanted Corrnelia alive.

"COME AT ME YOU WEAK BITCH!" Kallen roared at her enemy.

"HOW DARE YOU!" came Cornelia's angry reply, surging forward. Kallen threw her fork knife at the Knightmare like a shuriken and rolled forward. And prayed.

Designers across the world would tell you Knightmares aren't designed for jumping. The very reason Slash Harken's were considered elementary to a Knightmare was the mobility they granted. Feet designed to roll on the ground at high speed powered by land spinners do not take jumping well.

And yet Kallen jumped into a swan dive under Cornelia's lance. The tip had been knocked up by Kallen's fork knife hitting Cornelia's shoulder joint. Even then it only missed skewering Kallen by a few centimeters. Kallen turned the swan-dive into a roll over the Guren's head, and held on for dear life as the cockpit block took the full weight of the Guren. Even being made of thermo-ceramic plates and hardened plastics, the Guren weighed a lot. The world was in slow motion as the Guren got its feet beneath it and used its free hand to pump the RWS arm like a shotgun.

Cornelia gave a stunned yelp as she was rocked back and slammed into a shipping container. The Guren had hit her with a grenade fired from its left arm. The grenade blew away Corrnelia's lance arm, and then the princess was throttled by the silver arm again and held up by the face or her Gloucester.

Kallen panted as she smirked up at her caught prey.

"Gotcha, bitch."

Around Kallen the Black Knight Burai's leveled their rifles one handed at Cornelia.

0.0.0

Shirley walked over to the upturned cockpit block. Villeta followed close behind, her pistol held at her side. There was no one else around. Shirley could get justice for her father.

"Open it," Villeta ordered. As if by Villeta's command, the cockpit's back hatch opened. The seat slid out on its hydralics, dumping Zero on the ground, awkwardly. Face down, Zero's black cape stretched over his back like a pair of bat's wings. A silver gun had fallen near him. Shirley knelt and picked it up, not quite pointing it at Zero. The head turned with a groan. The back portion of the rebel's helmet retracted, revealing black hair.

Shirley stood up with a yelp. When Zero didn't move any more she pulled the pointed bottom of the helmet off, removing the article completely. She wished she hadn't. Lelouch's sleeping face, marred by blood and black fabric across its lower half, met her eyes. Shirley stood up, eyes going wide.

Lelouch had been Zero...

Lelouch had been at Narita...

Lelouch had killed her father.

"No," she whimpered, stunned. Villeta walked up quickly, kneeling down by Lelouch and gripping his hair in her fist. The black Knight dug her gun into Lelouch's neck firmly.

"At last we meet again Zero," Villeta growled with glee. "Face to FACE." she yanked his head up and slammed it back into the concrete to punctuate her sentence. "I knew Jeremiah and Quel were dangerous men, but they had the balls to show their FACE," she growled, bashing his head again. His purple eyes opened, pain radiating through. Then he smiled, amused.

"Stop," he mocked plaintively, "my father's a duke." Villeta slammed his face in again.

"No, it can't be Lelouch," Shirley insisted, staring at her hands.

"Lelouch Lamperouge," Villeta declared softly. "I just wonder what they'll do to you when I deliver you to the Emperor's Justice."

"Emperor's...justice?" Lelouch continued his hissing laugh. "The Emperor doesn't know the meaning of the word 'Justice.'"

"Well then," Villeta replied, before pushing her pistol into his left eye. "What do you think HE will do to you?" Lelouch's laughing ceased.

"HE?" Lelouch asked.

"The funny thing is," Villeta gloated smirking down at Lelouch. "I would actually tell you just to see the fear in your eyes. If I hadn't already made a deal with him. Once you're out of his way, he'll be off to save his green girl and you'll be hanged. And I'll be rewarded." She stood up keeping her pistol aimed down at Lelouch.

"Baroness Villeta Nu? Countess? Which do you think sounds better?"

"I think you're about to be washed up corpse Villeta Nu," Zero declared. Villeta's eyes widened and she spun just in time to see Shirley shoot her. Villeta stayed standing, her body registering the shock. Then she felt her strength leave her. Villeta rarely felt the need to engage in vulgarity, but given the circumstances nothing else came to her mind.

"Aw, fuck," she breathed, before passing out.

0.0.0

"Come on," Shirley whimpered, pulling Lelouch up by the arm. Lelouch gave out a groan as he raised himself. Shirley caught him before he fell again, and hugged him to keep a grip on him.

"Thank you, Shirley," Lelouch breathed, placing his arm around her shoulder to support himself. His helmet was in his other hand. Slowly Shirley walked the pair away. "I didn't know how I would get out of that."

"Is she dead?" Shirley asked, concerned. Lelouch winced at the ringing in his head and eyed Shirley's eyes. Tears were still threatening to burst forth from her green eyes. It might have been the pain, but Lelouch thought with pleasant surprise that Shirley's eyes were quite lovely.

Don't think about it," Lelouch advised. "She's not going to hurt either of us anymore."

"She didn't hurt my father," Shirley reminded herself and Lelouch. "You did. You killed my father." She suddenly pushed him away as she remembered. Lelouch hit a cargo container and leaned against it. "I thought you were my friend, how could you?" Lelouch winced at Shirley's heartbroken accusations.

"It was an accident," Lelouch explained softly. "I would take it back if I could." Lelouch realized with a frown that a part of him, and he didn't know how dominant that part was, that was lying. Zero had been liberating. To give his repressed hatred free reign, applied by his mad genius. "I didn't mean to kill your father." Only mine, he added to himself. Shirley ran at him and gripped him by the front of his cloak, tears flowing now.

"THEN WHY DID YOU DO IT?" Shirley demanded, sobbing. "I loved you! I wanted to belong to you! I wanted to make you the best person who ever could have lived!

"When we kissed, I thought I had all I ever wanted, what I needed to keep going. But you're Zero!" She shook her head, as if denying the truth of that statement. "Why?! You were a genius, but you never needed to brag about it! You helped people out without taking credit! You― you were a nice guy!"

You're a demon, Zero reminded inside him. 'We're not nice. That was a lie we chose to show ever since the day we abandoned that place.'

"I'm not a nice person, Shirley," Lelouch replied softly. "And the world isn't nice. That's why I can't stop. I will have to keep killing nice people for the world to change." Shirley's eyes shot too wide at his declaration. "But I can help you Shirley." The power in his left eye began to burn behind his eye, ready for him to unleash. "You don't have to be sad anymore."

"Zero!" came Ohgi's shout. Shirley ran away at the voice. Lelouch blinked as if awakening from a trance. He looked back the way Shirley came.

When Ohgi came round the corner, Zero was walking back towards where Ohgi had come.

'Status B1?' Zero asked, business like.

"We captured Cornelia," Ohgi began. Zero froze.

'Yessss...' the helmet hissed, and then Zero took off running back. Ohgi was about to follow when he heard a moan.

0.0.0

Kallen was beaming in the cockpit of her Guren when Cornelia had been dragged, screaming, from the Gloucester's cockpit. Guilford might have escaped, but she had caught Cornelia! Now Zero was striding into the battle-field, straight to where Cornelia was sitting, bound with two guards watching her carefully.

"My lord," came Diethard, running up beside Zero. "A brilliant coup! If we handle this correctly we'll have all of Area Eleven in our palms!"

'Later,' Zero declared. Diethard paused, frowning.

"But," Diethard, continued, confusion edging his voice. "We must declare that we have the princess immediately. This will rally every Eleven in the country to our banner."

'You're bothering me because of that?!' Zero shouted, spinning to face Diethard. 'This means nothing to my struggle to defeat Britannia! For now this is my matter, and mine alone! Now go do as you're told like an obedient lackey!'

'Lackey?' Tamaki thought angrily. 'We're the ones who risked our necks.'

"Hey Zero," Tamaki shouted. "Shouldn't we like, be congratulated for beating this bitch?"

'Later we shall have all the awards we can dream,' Zero declared, stepping before Cornelia's kneeling form. 'NOW. I have some questions I'd like you to answer.' Kallen saw Zero's helmet open on the left side for a brief instant.

"Go on," Cornelia said, dumbly.

'The late Empress Marianne vi Britannia was slain in the Aries Villa. You were the head of her Royal Guard, yes?' Kallen's eyes widened. Cornelia was guarding his mother! No wonder he was determined to catch her.

"Yes."

'Then the day she was murdered, why was the Royal Guard pulled back?'

"I was ordered to," Cornelia replied. Kallen blinked. Who could order a Britannian Princess around like that?

'By whom?'

"Lady Marianne." Lelouch's thoughts shattered.

'Lady Marianne lowered her own guard?'

"Yes, specifically."

'Why did she order her guard lowered that day?'

"I...don't know why she ordered her guard down that night."

'WHAT?' Zero hissed. Cornelia didn't respond. The Black Knights looked around, confused.

"Hey, what's this got to do with us?" Tamaki asked, annoyed.

'Shut up,' Zero barked. 'Marianne was killed that day, in the morning. Who killed her then?'

"Marianne was killed at night by unknown assailants." Lelouch recoiled at the comments. He remembered seeing Marianne's murder. There was no way it had been at night. Was Cornelia lying? It was impossible with his Geass. Wasn't it?

'How are you lying to me?'

"I'm not lying," Cornelia replied, frowning.

'You have to be. HOW ARE YOU LYING? WHO COULD TELL ME THE TRUTH?'

"My brother, Prince Schneizel-"

'Fine. Will you summon him to Japan for me?'

"Of course," Cornelia replied. Zero turned away.

'Diethard, allow her to compose a letter to summon Prince Schneizel. In the mean time, find a secure place to hold her. Ask Kyoto for assistance if we need to.' lelouch looked back at the Geass-compelled Princess. 'Without her, the Viceroyalty will crumble like a house of cards.'

0.0.0

Mao gave a disappointed groan as he watched Shirley run away.

"Aw," he whined. "They didn't work. Stupid girls. Now I'll have to do this myself. Well," he gave a devious glance back toward Shirley's retreating form. "Not entirely by myself."

0.0.0

Lelouch sat in the Black Knight command RV. He was staring at his own helmet, but wasn't really looking at anything. His mother must have known something about she couldn't share with her guards. She hadn't been someone to scheme with others. Especially not to politic within the Royal Family. She was highly direct.

'She wouldn't send her guard away if she were meeting an enemy. So she must have been meeting someone she trusted.' Lelouch's eyes narrowed as the mask called Zero spoke his thoughts.

Had they been ambushed at the time? No, Nunnally had been with her. She couldn't have been having a secret meeting. Lelouch had been right there.

'Unless our memories are lying,' Zero cautioned. Lelouch's eyes shot up.

"No," Lelouch told himself, eyes widening. "It couldn't be."

'Think about it,' Zero told him. 'You told yourself a lie that mother died protecting Nunnally. You're a victim of trauma. It matches the symptoms.'

"Wait, then what trauma did I suffer to cause the change of memory? Mother's murder couldn't have been enough to do it." Lelouch gritted his teeth when his mind couldn't come up with anything.

A beeping drew Lelouch's attention to the large TV. He put his helmet back over his face and walked over. The prince turned the device on to reveal Kirihara's face. A simple modification made after the meeting with Kirihara had turned the device into a way to communicate.

"The JLF were destroyed," Lelouch informed. "They used the liquid sakuradite to commit suicide, and took several Britannian soldiers with them."

"Was that what really happened?" Lelouch narrowed his eyes, unseen by Kirihara. Lelouch turned his head as the remaining resistance group filed into the vehicle.

"The JLF committed suicide," Lelouch assured. "But thanks to their heroic sacrifice, the Black Knights achieved a great victory. Cornelia has been captured. I was incapacitated but they achieved all of our objectives."

"Except the one I requested," Taizo added sternly.

"The situation changed rapidly," Lelouch insisted. "Unless you are implying that the JLF are more valuable than us?" The intent was clear. The Black Knights were growing. Kyoto could be their ally or their enemy.

"You captured Cornelia. That alone will be an excellent way to destabilize the Tyrannical Government." Taizo wasn't looking at Zero with pride.

"In honor of that," Lelouch turned to the resistance members. His gaze lingered over Kallen. "I apologize for my earlier misconduct. I'm proud that you were able to fight the Britannians on your own without my leadership. Thank you." Zero bowed to the resistance. He noticed Ohgi wasn't present. The prince made a note to personally congratulate Ohgi later. "Go enjoy your victory. Kallen, may I speak with you privately in my office?" Lelouch spun when Kallen nodded.

"What did you want to talk about?" Kallen asked once Lelouch had closed the office door. Lelouch steeled himself with an exhale and removed his helmet.

"Before I begin," Lelouch declared. "I understand your current feelings about me."

"Actually," Kallen began, stepping forward.

"Shirley knows that I'm Zero," Lelouch informed quickly. "When I ejected earlier Shirley was there with the woman knight in Shinjuku. The one whose uniform you borrowed?" Kallen nodded her recollection, then he went on. "My mask was removed. The knight won't be a problem any longer, but Shirley is emotionally unstable."

"Why were they even there?" Kallen asked, stunned at the revelation.

"Someone made them go there. Someone dangerous."

"What do you mean," Kallen asked, guarded. "Dangerous?"

"He made his presence known to me earlier. He left a note on my bedside table." Kallen blinked at the words. Her mind raced back.

"When?" she asked slowly, perturbed.

"While we were sleeping," Lelouch answered uncomfortably.

"While we were..." Kallen trailed off. "Oh my god!" She wrapped her arms around her chest, disgusted. "That is so damn creepy!

 **0.0.0**

 **Okay so the elephant in the room is the Demo in chapter 15. On my last fic I demo'd a slightly early version of the first chapter of this fic. So the demo chapters are something that I do to beta test, but don't worry that demo is not getting written. And probably taken down.**

 **Answering reviews before the OMAKE (wait, come back it's better this time I promise!)**

 **ANON: Kallen didn't leave Lelouch for speaking Japanese, rather for using his sleight of hand magic tricks to avoid showing the Black Knights his face. Kallen doesn't really like that Lelouch isn't trusting his fellow soldiers**

 **OMAKE:**

Villeta came to bleeding in the pavement. She could barely move from blood loss.

"Whelp," she sighed to herself. "Time to conveniently lose my memory so I don't complicate the plot."

"Stay with me," Ohgi demanded, slowly picking Villeta's wounded body up.

"Can't hear you," the ebony Knight replied, her voice going sing-songing. "Losing my memory...bleeeeeeeeeeegh."

"Why are you losing your memory you got shot in the stomach!" Ohgi asked incredulously. The woman in his heads began to hum the theme to the twilight zone. "Hey! Stay awake I'm taking you to get patched up."

"Aaaah," the woman said dreamily. "Call me a Japanese name...lalala..."

"You are the most annoying woman I have ever met," Ohgi grumbled as she continued to moan nonsensically.


	16. Chapter 16

The Demon and the Red Moon

Disclaimer: Code Geass is not owned by me and this is a non-profit work of fiction. Please support the official release of Season 1.

Pre-Chapter:

Dalton directed the influx of containers from the recently arrived General Revil. The carrier and its escort group had arrived in the night, bringing Cornelia's desperately needed reinforcements. Dalton took special interest, in the screen of the command center, to the large container marked with Special Corp. logo. Lloyd's spare, a gift from Schneizel in the face of the immense threat.

"Dalton!" came a familiar shout. The blonde general turned to see a bloody and disheveled human in Guilford's pilot suit.

"Guilford?" Dalton exclaimed, concern turning Dalton dead-cold. He gave voice to his immediate concern. "Where is Lady Cornelia?!"

Geass vs Geass

Kallen was buttoning her cream school uniform jacket when her mother entered, carrying a large basket with fresh sheets. Kallen quickly walked over to help when her mother was having trouble.

"I'll help, Mom, it's alright," Kallen declared, carrying the basket over to the foot of her queen-sized bed.

"You haven't called me Mom in a long time," her mother noted, emotionally. Kallen looked over her shoulder, surprised and amused. She looked back and began to yank her sheets off of her bed, setting them in a pile beside her nightstand.

"I'm bringin' it back," Kallen commented, smirking.

"Kallen,"her mother chided, walking closer to her daughter. "If your step-mother found out, or the other maids-"

"I don't care," Kallen huffed, still smirking. "Like that bitch is going to do something about it?" her mother gave a gasp at Kallen's language. "Mom, I know why you're doing this. You don't have to be my maid. If I asked Dad he'd let you live in the house with me."

"No," the older Kozuki replied with a sigh, grabbing a sheet from the basket. "This is all I was ever good at." Kallen frowned and thought back to many broken vases and chandeliers. She gave a thoughtful noise and began to help her mother spread the white sheet over the mattress.

"You're not very good with certain parts," Kallen carefully stated, tucking the sheet under her mattress. "I've noticed someone else isn't so good with certain parts." She frowned and tried to get Lelouch from her mind. She shook her head to clear it, focusing on making her bed. "Maybe Dad will let me make you my personal maid so you don't have to worry about the other things."

"It's very sweet that you think of that," her mother told her, smiling. "How is school? Good friends?" Kallen winced briefly.

"They're okay I guess," Kallen admitted. "Most of them are pretty nice for being Britannian spoiled kids. I mean," She paused to stand up straight and brush her crimson hair from her eyes. "Milly is a pervert, and Rivalz is kinda whiny. At least they're never boring. Nunnally is really sweet. You wouldn't think it from Lel-" Kallen winced again at the name. She tried to ignore the peal of longing inside her.

"Is something wrong with Lelouch?" Kallen was jolted from her thoughts by her mother's question. She took the side of the next sheet her mother offered and began to spread it out.

"It's complicated," Kallen decided out loud after a few moments.

0.0.0

Lelouch sneezed and scratched his nose, irritated. He looked around his bedroom and growled loudly at the sheer amount of pizza boxes laying around HIS bedroom. A few were even inside the drawers of his dresser.

Lelouch's desire for control and his calm demeanor had sundered to the heathen ways of that unkempt witch. Now Lelouch's anger stormed like the ancient Greek Gods.

"C," he said loudly to the prone figure on the bed, "where is my phone?!"

"Zzzzz," was his only reply. Lelouch growled once again and picked up a pizza box and flung it like a shuriken at the bed. It fell short and bounced to the floor. He growled yet again and began to dig through the pizza boxes, throwing several on the floor. Finally he drew his phone from the mess, as Arthur drew a sword from the stone.

"Lelouch, keep it down. Your so loud and messy." C rolled over with a groan.

"Messy?" Lelouch hissed to himself. "Messy?!" Enough was enough. Lelouch's irritation, constant companion since C had come into his life, now erupted like a volcano. He took a deep inhale as he spun, preparing to finally voice his princely wroth.

0.0.0

"He's kind," Kallen finally explained as she patted down a comforter. "But he doesn't like to show it, he just wants to keep seeming so cool. And he doesn't trust others easily. He's always coming up with these plans so he doesn't have to open up to people." Kallen redid the top button of her jacket. "And he's really stupid about love."

Kallen's mother froze, concern edging her eyes.

"Kallen, it's not my place exactly," she began carefully, speaking very low. "But that night you snuck out in that black coat your father got for you, where did you go exactly?" Kallen's eyes widened, blushing.

"Wow look at the time, I'm going to be late, gotta go, see you tonight!" Kallen grabbed her bag and began to run from the bed room. She stopped and ran to give her mother a hug. "Love you!" Kallen shouted as she left.

0.0.0

When Kallen got to her first period class she saw Lelouch sitting in the back with his face in his hands. She heard a muffled sound that Kallen would normally attribute to a dying animal. The red head moved over to where Lelouch was sitting.

"Lelouch?" Kallen called softly.

"She's ruining my system," Lelouch groaned, despair ringing his voice. Kallen realized he meant Shirley and leaned down.

"Don't worry," she whispered near his head. "We'll find out where she is after school. Then you can use your Geass on her to erase her memory."

"I can't use my Geass on that evil witch," Lelouch despaired once again.

"Why can't you use your Geass on Shirley?" Kallen hissed, suddenly intensely worried. The prince raised his head up, his one eye she saw visibly narrowed in confusion. The half-breed frowned as she realized Lelouch meant C. Kallen lowered herself down to a crouching position.

"What is she doing?" Kallen asked, sighing. Lelouch lowered his head back down with a groan. Kallen rolled her eyes.

"I can see pizza boxes when I close my eyes," Lelouch groaned. "I want my damn room clean again, she has no right to destroy my only place of solitude." Kallen felt the beginnings of a headache and stroked her brow with a sigh.

"Try not to think about it," Kallen offered, helpless. She rose with a sigh.

"Don't think about it?" Lelouch sat up and propped himself up with his elbows. "I can't stop thinking about anything. Including the fact that if I see one more pizza box I'm going to go insane and blow my brains out." Kallen made a wincing sound and Lelouch looked over to see the rest of the class staring as the teacher had opened several boxes of pizza. Lelouch gave a groan and put his head in his palm.

"I thought you liked pizza," Suzaku commented as he sat down, chewing on a bite of pepperoni.

"I detest pizza," Lelouch affirmed. "The sloppy construction of a meal."

"Lelouch is weird," one of the girls next to Kallen commented loudly. Kallen bit into her pizza to stop from laughing.

0.0.0

Villeta became aware that she was somehow both numb yet sore in her gut. She moved her hand and felt linen sheets. She smelled dust and homely scents and moldy carpet. She tried to stretch to erase the cramps from the bed, and she felt a catch in her abdomen and gave a hiss.

"You're awake," came a male voice. Villeta's eyes shot open and looked around. An Eleven with dark curly hair held aloft by a red headband was sitting next to the bed. Villeta tried to sit up but her body protested again, causing enough pain for her to give up. She felt around for her firearm with her hands, but she found even her previous outfit was gone, leaving her in her bra and panties.

'Dammit,' Villeta growled to herself, 'not again.'

"I had a friend patch up your wound. He lost his medical license when you people invaded our homeland. I had to pay him a lot to fix you up." The eleven stood up and lifted Villeta's pistol up. "I'm going to hold on to this," he told her. "So what's your name?" Villeta scowled at her...host, she decided, defeated.

"I'm Dame Villeta Nu of the Order of the Purebloods," she finally told him, haughtily. The eleven absorbed this for a second.

"Short for something?" he replied sarcastically. Villeta smirked despite herself.

"Since I'm far from completely dressed I think it is fair enough for you to call me Dame Nu," Villeta conceded. She tried to sit up again but gave a groan. The eleven man set the gun far away from Villeta on a table.

"Here, if you wanna sit up I'll help," he leaned over her and slipped two arms under Villeta's back. Lifting and sliding, he began to move Villeta to a more sitting position in bed. Villeta had to admit, if she were a weaker woman, that the man's arms weren't entirely unwelcome. They were pleasantly muscled and toned, and he was gentle enough that she only had a small amount of pain in the process.

"Thank you," Villeta said when he let her down. She looked down enough to pull the sheet to cover her breasts from any prying eyes. But in the corner she noticed he'd avoided staring at her bosom.

"What were you doing down at the docks with a gun?" the man asked, not picking up the gun. It didn't matter, Villeta was in no shape to retrieve it.

"I was tracking that traitor, Zero," Villeta confessed, in no position to refuse to answer. "And I had that boy, until that little bitch shot me."

"Zero? You know who that guy is?" the man sounded very interested now, sitting down and leaning forward, his brown eyes boring into her.

"Why do you ask?" Villeta countered, meeting the eleven's stare. "Are you one of those idiots who believes he can make things better?" Despite the unintended insult, the man glanced away, in thought.

"The old man said Zero was a true mortal enemy of Britannia. Who the heck could be a mortal enemy of the whole of Britannia?" Villeta's eyes widend as the man spoke.

"No, Zero is a school boy named Lelouch Lamperouge. He can't be that important." Villeta drew the young man's gaze back.

"Lamperouge? Is he European?"

"No, definitely Britannian," Villeta corrected.

"But if he's Britannian why does he hate Britannia?"

"He's nothing but a traitor, and if you support him that makes you a traitor."

"And I'm the one who saved your life after you got shot," the man reminded.

"Good point," Villeta began, then dropped off when she realized she hadn't heard her savior's name.

"It's Ohgi. Kaname Ohgi."

0.0.0

"Did one of you guys upset Shirley?" Milly asked the student council as they ate. Lelouch remained silent and placed another piece of tuna and rice into his mouth with chopsticks.

"What the hell was that voice?" Rivalz asked, looking around in confusion.

"I didn't say anything to Shirley," Kallen replied, nibbling her sandwich.

"Did she find out that you and Lelouch did it?" Milly asked pointedly. Kallen choked on her sandwich a few moments and managed to swallow it. Lelouch gave a weary sigh.

"Milly-" Kallen choked, beginning an explanation.

"You're not denying it this time," Milly declared. "Shirley left and she's been gone the entire night. You know she likes you Lelouch so you better go apologize to her!" Lelouch winced, remembering Shirley's sudden confession.

"We'll get Shirley first thing after school," Lelouch promised.

"Kallen go with him," Milly ordered. "Seriously guys, Shirley is really messed up after her dad dying."

0.0.0

"Is it wrong for me to be excited to be on the train?" Kallen asked as they boarded the train-car. "I've never been on the bullet train." She followed Lelouch and sat down right next to him. The seat was small so Kallen had to get really close to be actually seated on the bench.

"I wouldn't think it'd be such a big thing, the bullet train has been around since before the invasion," Lelouch replied, double-checking the location of Shirley's phone on his laptop. The prince saw the flash of a white coat in the corner of his eye and ignored it.

"I know," Kallen replied, excited. "My mom wanted to take me and..." she frowned looked out the window. "Anyway, I got sick and we couldn't go."

"You never told me about Naoto," Lelouch noted, closing his laptop. "I'd understand it it's too painful." Kallen smiled.

"Thanks for understanding," she told him. "Naoto was...well he was Naoto. Everybody liked him. When Britannia invaded Japan, we were already safe in the country side, but Naoto wanted to help fight back. And afterwards he told people that if we wanted to keep our homeland we had to fight to take it back. Freedom wasn't a right, we had to take it ourselves." Kallen looked up at Lelouch's face.

"He was kinda like you," Kallen noted. "You're both big softies on the inside."

"You're also a softie," Lelouch noted with a smirk.

"I am not dumbass," Kallen declared, her face going hard again, looking ahead.

"Sorry to interrupt," came an accented voice. "You guys sound like you're having a lover's spat." The teens turned to look over his shoulder. Lelouch frowned to himself at the man. White hair over a mostly white and soft green outfit, big headphones and sunglasses. Weird dresser.

"Yeah," Kallen admitted to him. "He's been a little distant with some friends of mine so I'm not really sure I can trust him."

"Aw," the man said, almost a whine. "Well I hope it works out for you."

"Thanks, that's nice of you," Kallen told the man.

"My pleasure," he replied as Kallen turned to look back ahead. Lelouch kept watching him. Something was bugging him. Something he couldn't nail down. His Geass eye felt...unnatural. Like it didn't belong.

"Hey," Kallen said, drawing his attention. "Stop glaring at him, he's just riding the train like us." Lelouch looked ahead once again. He could see the white-haired stranger in the reflection on the window. He was writing on something, a notebook maybe. Lelouch narrowed his eyes, focusing carefully on the reflection.

Lelouch kept glancing at the reflection as the train went along. The ride to Narita was supposed to be thirty minutes, though stops prolonged it. The prince kept talking with Kallen, about a few subjects, but not the Black Knights or Zero.

"What are we going to say to Shirley?" Kallen finally asked. A gasp came from behind Lelouch, irritating the prince.

"Was that Lelouch two-timing on you?" the other passenger suddenly asked, offended at Lelouch. Lelouch realized something with a start. He spun around to meet the stranger's eyes, almost knocking Kallen off the seat. The redhead sat down on top of his legs. The stranger just glared at him.

"No," Kallen explained, looking at the stranger. "She just really likes Lelouch and ran away because of our relationship. We're trying to get her to come back to our boarding school."

"Who are you?" Lelouch growled softly. Kallen recoiled.

"He's just a harmless guy. We were talking loudly, he couldn't help overhearing us." Lelouch didn't look at the read head as Kallen spoke. The albino stranger simply kept staring at him.

"No he's not," Lelouch replied softly. "You made your pen strokes obvious in the reflection, to match the note you wrote for me. Your accent is too careful, and when you gasped you broke it. The lilt in your voice means you spoke Mandarin as a first language. It's probably Hong Kong but you learned it from listening to it, not from school, so it isn't perfect. Kallen never spoke aloud my name for this entire ride. And your sunglasses aren't so reflective that I can't see your eyes. And I know the voice coming from your head phones. I doubt you'll be surprised to hear, she hasn't aged a day."

The stranger merely smirked.

"You underestimated my hearing and that I could read your strokes. And this isn't the first time you've seen Kallen." Kallen recoiled as she realized what Lelouch was saying. She was about to rise when Lelouch gripped her thigh to stop her.

"I'm impressed. You came up with 8 different possibilities for my identity," the stranger finally said. "Including the correct one." He dipped his sunglasses and showed a pair of avian Geass symbols. "That was your chance to kill me, Lelouch." the friendly tone was gone, now the albino was speaking in a threatening tone. "And you won't get another chance."

Lelouch quickly scanned the rest of the car, noting the other inhabitants.

"Nanny," The albino said, parroting Lelouch's thoughts as fast as he saw the other people in the car. "Off-duty cop, unarmed. Two teenagers, a third, listening to headphones. The off-duty cop is an alcoholic, you can see the tremors in his hand, the spill on his lower lip. The nanny has a brick in her purse, you come up with three plans to get the purse and hit me."

Lelouch froze as he realized the strangers power.

'Kallen and I have to get away from this guy,' Lelouch thought to himself.

"Kallen and I have to get away from this guy," the Stranger mocked, mimicking Lelouch's inner thoughts exactly. "How can he read my thoughts? Lelouch can't read my thoughts with his Geass." Lelouch frowned as he realized Kallen's thoughts were being read too.

"I'm Mao," the stranger finally declared. "You're Lelouch, she's Kallen. You morons can't stop thinking about each other. Do you know how sickening that is to hear?" Mao's expression was bored. "Even when you're naked and asleep."

0.0.0

Kallen was going to throw up. This sicko pretended to be friendly to lure her in. And she fell for it like an idiot. And it was worse because he'd seen her after she and Lelouch had made love. That was supposed to be-

"Only for Lelouch?" Mao asked, looking up at her face, meeting her eyes. Kallen had to look away, disturbed. She sat forward, gripping Lelouch's hand on her thigh.

"I would like to think we can reach a mutually beneficial agreement," Lelouch finally offered, diplomatically.

'Oh, god, Lelouch,' Kallen thought to herself, desperately. 'Please tell me you can beat him. This guy scares me.'

0.0.0

Mao hissed as a large group of hooligans entered the train car at the next-stop. Lelouch noticed and shot up.

"Hey!" he shouted. They all turned. Lelouch's Geass was waiting. "Grab him!" Mao lunged for Lelouch in a sudden rage. The hooligans quickly grabbed Mao and pulled him from Lelouch however. "Run!" he told Kallen. The pair of teens just managed to get off the train as the doors closed. Mao screamed and beat against the doors as the train began moving again.

0.0.0

The young pair had had to walk the rest of the way. Thankfully it wasn't far. But that meant that Mao could potentially catch them again. The concept deeply vexed Lelouch's inner calm. He knew none of Mao's weaknesses. Yet he'd taken the Chinaman's hinted challenge too quickly. Too brashly. Arrogant, stupid.

"So that's the guy," Kallen finally thought aloud, jolting Lelouch from his self-flagellation. The prince eyed the rebel, curiously.

"His ability is pretty terrifying," Kallen admitted. "To have everything you can think be read so easily. For someone like you it must be impossible to overcome."

"Thank you for reminding me of my constant failures," Lelouch replied sharply.

Lelouch was unprepared for Kallen's bare hand striking him across the face hard enough to see stars. Lelouch brought his hand to the tender cheek with an irritated frown.

"You're more of an idiot than I thought," Kallen admonished. "First you don't trust anybody, then you can't understand anybody, and now you're thinking you're a failure. You're still alive, aren't you? You still have time to fix yourself don't you?" Lelouch recoiled as the girl shouted at him.

"So what if you couldn't beat someone like Mao this time? You keep fighting Lelouch, until you win or you die!" Lelouch winced at how loud Kallen was speaking and glanced around.

"Kallen," he advised softly.

"What?" Kallen looked around to see that everyone around had stopped to stare at her. She blushed and shielded her face and continued walking the way they'd been going. "This is why I hate Britannians, always sticking their nose where it doesn't belong."

"Thank you, Kallen," Lelouch finally offered, catching up. "I wasn't thinking." Lelouch gave a smirk at the irony. "You managed to dispel the doubt in my heart." Kallen smiled to herself, putting her hands behind her waist and lacing her fingers together. "You know, you don't hate Britannians," Lelouch commented, suddenly.

"Oh, you're angry at Britannia itself," Lelouch quickly added. "But ever since I've met you you've protected Britannians. In the van you didn't want to disperse the poison gas because it would've been a massacre. In our first battle you protected me, a Britannian prince. At Lake Kawaguchi you saved the student council members, and a bunch of other Britannians.

"I think you wanted to hate every Britannian, but you saw your friends in a new light after Naoto's death. A lot of them were just people. And people don't become evil when they suddenly have a Britannian Flag over their heads. But you got it stuck in your head so now you just say it when you're embarrassed."

"Alright," Kallen started. "Two can play this game." She stopped and faced Lelouch, who paused in his stride and eyed her, curious. "You never undo the top button of your jacket when you can be seen. You try to put on a detached expression in class, like you're not really involved. But you watch them. Whenever you're not reading a novel you're usually either sleeping in class or watching people.

"Because deep down you don't understand them. You're not really connected to anything except Nunnally. Probably because you don't understand emotions, except anger at your father, and sadness. You feel those things the same as us but you don't know how to process those things. So you bury them to stay in control because when you're in control you understand how you work."

Lelouch narrowed his eye, irritated. He huffed and looked away. His eyes widened. Shirley was sitting on a bench. Staring at her hands.

"You should stay here," he softly advised Kallen. Then he slowly walked over to where Shirley was sitting. She probably heard his shoes on the ground, but didn't react. He carefully sat down next to her. He called her name quietly to draw her attention.

"Did you come to kill me for knowing your secret?" Shirley asked softly. Lelouch's eyes shot wide.

"YES HE DID," came a loud triumphant voice. Lelouch looked back to see Mao walking over swiftly. With a pistol.

"Don't listen to him, Shirley," Lelouch ordered swiftly. 'You can't beat me, Mao,' Lelouch thought carefully to himself. 'You would've killed me already if you could. But C wouldn't take you back if did. Which means I can never lose to you.'

"You can't lie to me, Lulu," Mao replied. "You're going to kill poor little Shirley for knowing your secret. Or you'll use your Geass to make me do it." Lelouch winced.

"I'm sorry for what I did to your father, Shirley. But I'm not going to kill you, I promise. We're friends." 'Meaning now she might think that I'm killing her if you do. You know that you can still take things away that matter to me.' Lelouch's mind went against his control and thought of Nunnally. He silently cursed.

"What will Nunnally think, Lulu?" Mao taunted. "When they all find out who killed Shirley for finding out your widdle secret?"

"Then how come you brought the gun, Mao?" Lelouch challenged. 'I just need to use my Geass on Shirley and she'll rip you apart with her teeth. Even if you can read my thoughts you can't beat me that easily Mao.'

"You can't out-think yourself, Lelouch," Mao challenged back.

'Maybe,' Lelouch thought to himself. With a smirk, Lelouch began to think.

'You're arms are too thin so you're not physically strong. We're still near a large group of people. So how well can you hear me?' Lelouch also began to memorize the words to 'All hail Britannia,' while mentally reciting Pi and translating the Quran. Mao hissed, his free hand going up to his temple.

'More,' Lelouch realized. 'I need more.' So he began to let loose with his feelings.

'Even if you can read my thoughts, I can still manipulate you. Because you still feel emotions. You should've increased your own mental power instead of relying on every one else's.'

"I won't fall for such stupid bait, Lelouch!" Mao was angrily screaming now, his free hand gripping his skull. "If I concentrate I can focus on which is your true thought, and stop hearing the rest of the chatter."

"Don't think about C," Lelouch reminded with a smirk.

"C is mine!" Mao growled. "Mine mine mine mine!"

'I've even seen the parts of C you'll never get to,' Lelouch taunted with a thought. Then he began to remember the cave...

"SHUT UP!" Mao screamed, raising his pistol. "Ow!" Mao and Lelouch looked down to see a cat biting down on Mao's leg. Lelouch felt something jump over him. Mao looked back up just in time to see Kallen Kozuki land a flying kick to the center of his chest, knocking him backwards.

When he landed Mao rolled one way. His sunglasses, blocking Lelouch's Geass, went another. Mao looked up to fire at Kallen just as Lelouch called forth his Geass, standing.

"Die!" the two Geass-users chorused.

The best thing about Lelouch's weapon, was his didn't need a trigger pulled.

0.0.0

Getting Shirley to come home with Kallen and Lelouch had been easy afterwards. Lelouch had quickly controlled the police. He wasn't planning on going back to Narita ever again.

Kallen pet the cat in her lap from the opposite bench in the cabin as Shirley and Lelouch sat side by side. Lelouch had taken a few moments to explain Geass. Shirley had seen him use it after all, it was simpler to answer.

"Could," Shirley hesitated. "Could your Geass bring back my father?" Lelouch winced.

"I'm sorry," Shirley sobbed at Lelouch's apology. "But I can help you. The Black Knights fight for justice. So I'll swear that one day you'll get the chance to get your own justice." Shirley looked up at Lelouch, confusion wrinkling her brow.

"When you get back to Asheford," Lelouch ordered, his eye alight with Geass, "forget about Lelouch, and forget who Zero is. Zero is evil, no matter how he achieves his goals. Find a way to seek your justice against him, Shirley."

Kallen gasped as the order took effect on Shirley.

0.0.0

Alice unlocked the lab door with her Geass-alight eye reading in the retinal scanner. She carefully walked inside the massive laboratory room. She came to the far wall to stand beside a man overlooking an operation in progress.

"Will he live?" Alice asked, coldly.

"We're uncertain how he lived this long," the overseer admitted.

In the operation theater, Jeremiah Gottwald awoke with a scream. He could feel the pain all over. Out of the corner of his eye he saw them taking away pieces of him. He heard the incessant beeping. The smell of solder and fire in his skull.

"He's awake," a female voice warned.

"Where is Zero?" Jeremiah screamed. He couldn't move. He was trapped and in pain. They were ripping him apart. He heard something being clicked home close to his eye. "Just let me die," he begged. "LET ME DIE!" He began to howl in pain again.

"Are we really going to send him into the field so soon?" the overseer asked Alice. "Lord V isn't thinking such a dangerous mechanism is ready."

"The fact that Jeremiah even survived the Red Knightmare's radiation attack with his brain still alive means that he's far more sturdy than your average human. Once the Geass Cancelling hardware is installed, and with the proper neural connection ports he'd be an excellent candidate to test the Siegfried system."

"But," the other man hedged, "his obsession with Zero-"

"It's an ideal motivation," Alice interrupted. "Lord V can't afford to fall behind. Even Geass can't tip the delicate balance. If we use Gottwald to hunt Zero, and test the Siegfried system at the same time," Alice spun away, still frowning. "We can kill two birds with one stone. If we're lucky, we'll kill one of those birds before he becomes powerful enough to be two birds."


End file.
